Passage for Reflection: James 3:13-18
Happy New Year!
How did you celebrate the conclusion of 2023 and the start of 2024?
Did you stay home and go to bed well before midnight or opt to ring in the new year with a few people who are dear to you or were you among those who ventured out to be part of a large event?
Did you think about the life you want to lead in the year ahead and make some new year’s resolutions or public commitments to live differently or did you choose to abstain from that goal setting experience?
Over the years I’ve celebrated the start of a new year in each of the ways I listed and I’ve done so by committing to a few resolutions or by letting the world know I was not participating in this common practice.
Siblings in Christ, it’s my conviction that any and actually all of the above options are valid and can be life-giving choices. They are simply matters of personal preference.
A more challenging and, I’d suggest, more universal opportunity in 2024 for those who follow the Way of Jesus is to live well and wisely throughout the year.
A modern paraphrase of James 3:13 reads, “Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts” (The Message).
This is the kind of new year’s resolution I can adopt this year and one I’ll need to reaffirm each day. Will you join me?
This post was originally published in the Lectionary for Life Series for the Center for Congregational Ethics on January 2, 2024.