Where to start the New Year?

by Robert Mohns

For many of us, the new year sets our minds on goals and plans. It’s a time to get a fresh start at tackling projects that we kept putting off in 2022 and to engage in new projects.

But where do you start? We might say, “There must be an app for that!” It’s true; there are any number of apps that have been developed to assist us in such things. Not into apps? There is also a plethora of pundits offering a cacophony of prognostications. And there are any number of people who want to help us tackle our challenges and motivate us to “get ‘er done” this year. Some of it can be helpful, much of it not so much, and some ruinous. Who is to know?

We live in a world of endless distractions. We live in a world where we are tempted to ignore God’s Word and those whom He has called to serve His Word into our ears and our throats.

Many times, our ancient brothers and sisters, the Israelites, became distracted. They ignored God’s Word spoken through the prophets. As a result, they found themselves living in exile. They were forced to live under the words and edicts of the nations of their day: the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. 

It was a life of fruitless, senseless toil, filled with meaningless pain and suffering and unending fatigue. It was so bad that the great enemy of all humanity seemed like a welcome friend. In the mud pit of their sin, stripped of everything, they repented and cried out to God to save them. And God, who is rich in mercy, heard their cry and acted to save them. 

The problem of sinful disregard for God was not Israel’s alone. What began with our first parents, Adam and Eve and their sinful disobedience, has continued in each generation and every people. That includes you and me. We may not live in Egypt or Assyria but our lives, exiled from God, are all too similar.

Where, then, do you start? Perhaps the better question to ask is: where does God start with us? The Christian looks to the only reliable and dependable thing, the Word of God. Through this Word and the working of the Holy Spirit, we are led to Christ, our Rock and our Redeemer. 

Think on these things: through the conception of Jesus in the womb, Mary redeems my conception in the womb of my mother. Jesus’ naming redeems my own name by which God will forever call me.

I love this time of the church year because it cuts away the distractions and helps us focus on the work of Christ for us and our salvation. In this season, Christ, by His mighty Word and His Spirit, pulls us, body and soul, into His life, suffering, death, and resurrection, that He might redeem us.

Where do we start our year? Christians start the year in Christ. To be in Christ means to be where He promises to be, in His Word and in His Sacraments. He is just that close to us. And in these means of grace He comes to live in us.

Think on these things: through the conception of Jesus in the womb, Mary redeems my conception in the womb of my mother. Jesus’ naming redeems my own name by which God will forever call me. Jesus’ circumcision, the shedding of His blood under the Law and in fulfillment of the Law, redeems my blood. His growth in stature and wisdom redeems my childhood, my growth in stature and wisdom. His baptism in the river Jordan is for me, to cleanse me of sin. 

His overcoming of temptation in the wilderness is for me, and He redeems my life from temptation to sin. His first miracle at the wedding of Cana is for me, redeeming my relationships. His holy absolution of the sinful woman is for me, and He forgives my sin and empowers me to go and sin no more. His healing of the ailments of body and soul of the peoples is for me; He redeems my body and soul. His raising of Lazarus from death redeems my death and burial. His promise to the repentant thief on the cross—“Today you will be with Me in paradise”—redeems my future, my hope. 

To be in Christ means to be where He promises to be, in His Word and in His Sacraments. He is just that close to us. And in these means of grace He comes to live in us.

Jesus’ death is for me. His cry from the cross, “It is finished,” is for me. It is not only the completion of His work of salvation for me, but also the redemption, the full payment for my sins. His burial is for me, and through it He redeems my burial, and the place where I will be laid in death. His resurrection from the grave is for me. He redeems my life from that last and greatest of foes, death.

The words and work of Jesus for our salvation is not merely information to download. It is not simply a checklist of things to know. In Jesus’ life, there is life—life to the full.

Where do we start the new year? We start where God promises to be and to act to save us. We start in Christ, our Rock and our Redeemer.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!… For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” – Psalm 107:1, 9

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Rev. Robert Mohns is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s West Regional Pastor.

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