Christmas 2A – Mark S. Winward
Happy New Year! I wonder how many of you were at some sort of New Year’s festivity this year? Well, whether or not you attended a party, unless you went to sleep before midnight you probably heard the famous ballad “Auld Lang Syne.” And if you’re like me, you’ve probably sung it dozens of times without really knowing what it means. The song was a popular Scottish bar song recorded by the poet Robert Burns in 1788. The words go like this:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne? (old long ago)
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!
In essence, “Auld Lang Syne” is meant to be a toast that says, “Here’s to old times.” The advent of a new year is a time when many people reassess their lives. It is a natural season for looking both backward to the past and forward to the future. That linking of the old and the new is precisely what today’s Gospel is about.
Scholars tell us that Matthew was writing primarily to Jews in the first century. To reach them, Matthew took great care to link Moses—the deliverer of Israel—with Jesus—the deliverer of all humanity. Jesus’ lowly birth, the slaughter of the innocents, and today’s account of the flight into Egypt all echo the Exodus story. In essence, the Gospel itself is our Exodus story—our escape from bondage. Matthew wants to show that Jesus is not breaking with the past but renewing it. Jesus is depicted as the vital link between the old and the new.
In establishing Jesus’ connection to Moses, Matthew looks backward. Jesus is clearly and deeply connected to the old Jewish covenant—God’s promise to Israel that they would be his people and he would be their God. Through that connection, Jesus is linked to the Law. Yet Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth also looks forward. The whole Christmas story points toward a new covenant, fulfilled in Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection. In linking Jesus to this new covenant, Matthew shows that Jesus is deeply connected with God’s grace. Law and grace meet here. The Christ child bridges the gap between the old and the new, between law and grace, and in doing so offers each of us hope.
New Year’s is a hopeful time, a season of anticipation. People often feel they are being given a fresh start, which may be why New Year’s resolutions are so common. Yet, if you are like me, although you may make resolutions with the best of intentions, you often find them difficult to keep. If most people actually carried them through, New Year’s would be known as a genuinely life-changing event. But if we are honest, we must admit that truly life-changing choices are rarely made on January 1.
Perhaps people fail in their New Year’s resolutions because New Year’s comes only once a year. When a resolution is broken, it can feel as though everything is ruined. We tell ourselves we have blown it, so it no longer matters. Then, in utter disgust, we chalk it up to yet another failed New Year’s resolution.
But the point of today’s Gospel is that Christ has freed us from the bondage of the Law and ushered us into the freedom of God’s grace. That familiar image of the year portrayed as an old man giving way to a newborn baby is a helpful symbol. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” In God’s eyes, we are like the old year and the new—the old has passed away, and something new has been born. Jesus Christ offers each of us a genuine fresh start.
And the best news of all is that New Year’s Day can be every day. People do not become Christians and suddenly “arrive.” God is actively and daily at work in those who choose to walk with him. Each day, for those who walk with Christ, is a new day. If you blow it, then you have blown it—but there is still another day. The old has passed away, and everything is made new. Instead of holding your breath until you inevitably fail, every day becomes a new opportunity.
The good news is that we are no longer enslaved to an impossible ideal. Christ frees us to walk daily with him, step by step, along a path. As we walk that path, we gradually find ourselves strengthened and reshaped into the image of a faithful walker.
Frances R. Havergal captures this hope beautifully:
Another year is dawning,
Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with thee.
May this new year—and every day within it—be lived in the freedom and grace of Christ our Lord. Amen.