New Year's Eve

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Jn 1:14

Those of us who have lived in the New York area most of our lives are very familiar with the New Year's Eve celebration that goes on each year in Times Square.  More than a million people begin gathering early in the evening and then wait for hours so they can watch the lighted ball drop exactly at midnight to celebrate a New Year.  Like any ritual, it is designed to help people begin again, to put aside the past and focus on the New Year just begun.  Many people use the occasion to seek reconciliation with family or friends. Even more make resolutions to change their lives so that 2012 will be better than 2011.

While we understand and appreciate the fun and hope of the night, the incredible statement we read in the first chapter of St. John's gospel, if only we take time to meditate upon it, can lift our spirits even more.  John writes,  "And the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." These words remind us of something that is almost too powerful for us to fully appreciate. Despite the failure of the human community to honor God and neighbor consistently, despite our wandering from the path of justice and life, God loves us so much that God speaks the word that becomes flesh as the ultimate sign of God's undying love. God wants to be with us, to walk with us, to weep with us, and live with us forever. 

Most of us can get excited about a story or a movie that reminds us of the heroes who have lived among us. Reading about Dorothy Day, the foundress of the Catholic Worker, who spent most of her life providing soup and bread for hungry New Yorkers, or Mother Teresa who found a way to care for thousands of dying people in India "one person at a time," fills us with hope.  How much more excited ought we be when we realize how great and enduring God's love is!  Every day, God promises us, the Word will dwell among us as companion and friend, as guide and leader.  We are never alone, never in the dark, always in God's heart.  What a wonderful way to let go of 2011 and begin 2012. The only resolution we need to make for 2012 is to promise ourselves to take time each day to remember the promise of God's undying for all.

Today, let go of fear and open your heart to the indwelling of God in your lives and communities.