At the end of another year, it seems we find ourselves in a world filled more than ever with problems, doubts, and fears—to say nothing of the numberless crises we hear about in the daily news. It seems, too, that people today are not as cheerful as they used to be, or as they would like to be.
When I was in the eighth grade, we put on a stage version of the classic Christmas Story by Charles Dickens. My voice had not even changed yet, and I had to play the part of Scrooge. So I really had to work hard—against my basic good nature, hah, hah—to rasp out “Bah, humbug” almost a dozen times.
We are fortunate when we know and meet those who really work on being filled with light. Yet if we dare ask a dozen people “Why aren’t you more cheerful?” the answers we get are likely to be some form of “Bah, humbug.” Some might say:
You cannot believe what I am going through
My life is falling apart and God seems to be absent
If you lived with so and so you wouldn’t be so happy either.
I’m stuck, in debt and ill.
Why is this happening to me?
I knew that would happen. They’ll never change.
I myself sometimes feel stumped and I keep lamenting: “What am I going to do,” “I don’t know what to do.”
Connected with this, have you seen the t-shirt that says, “Don’t ask me to ‘have a nice day.’” Or can you identify with the happy cynic W.C. Fields, who once said, “I start off each day with a smile, —and get it over with.
When you think about it, these sometimes funny sentiments are just plain dead ends. They are poisonous both to the speaker and to the listener. It’s like having fumes from a toxic dump wafting across your back yard.
The above remarks give us a peek into what we are thinking, and whatever is on the inside, sooner or later will show up on the outside. Then whether we make bad choices or find ourselves in sad and sorry situations, it may take a while to realize——you’re really not what you think you are. You are—what you think in your heart: … And that you can change.
Now that it’s New Year’s Day we sincerely say “Happy New Year” to everyone but without much thought, or at times feeling a little phony about it. I once heard the remark, “Maybe it would be better to ask, “Will 2012 be a happy year for you?” and that you can do something about.
Last week a NY Times reporter posed a similar question to some of the hundreds of Russians protesters. One of them said, “2012 may or may not be a good year; it may or may not be a hard year; but it will be our year.”
Like them, we have a special opportunity to leave behind any stale and dark thoughts, in exchange for a completely new perspective. It’s never easy to begin a new way of thinking about the predicaments we find ourselves in, but today’s celebration might give us some encouragement for the upcoming 12 months. First, at this liturgy we are going to hear different prayers for a change, because today is the feast day of St. Basil, one of the founders of monastic life and one of the great pillars and teachers of the church. Second, we are also celebrating the Circumcision of Jesus, his initiation into the ancient and sacred covenant between God and the Jewish people.
And this is relevant, because Jesus in turn left us a sublime legacy by initiating a new covenant between himself and humanity, and therefore between God and us. Whether or not we think we fully understand this relationship, and though we might think our faith is weak, we can take part in its extraordinary celebration today, especially through the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
And third, we are supremely encouraged, at the beginning of this New Year, by the baptism and anointing of Zoë Christina. Today marks the beginning of a new and abundant life in the spirit for her.
This morning we remember our own baptism as well, and we too have a dramatic opportunity to begin anew. We are invited now to be good models for Zoë. Let us burn out the old ways! We are called to embrace new life even in the midst of our difficulties. Let us foster this child of God as we might foster ourselves, with light and joy and good will.
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