It is a new year

It is a new year.

It is a time to stop. To take th= e kind of mindful and steadied breath we so often promise ourselves and seldom del= iver to our selves.

There were triumphs in the year past. Some of us got married. Some of us had grandchildren. Some= of us learned to drive. Some of us = heard the good news that we would heal from illnesses.

And, there were heartaches in the year past.&nb= sp; Death and disappointment. Struggles and the pain of growth so wrenching that we weren’t = sure we could muster the energy to call ourselves alive.

We share on this day the poignant gift of paying heed to the pain and glory of the year just passed.

And, we share on this day the powerful gift of paying heed to the promise of the year that is to come.

And in both the remembering and the longing for what will b= e, we turn to God.

We are blessed to share this first day of the new year here, in this place. Gathered around this table. Held in the gift of this time of worship.

We will share in the creating of covenant with our God.

Whenever we commit to being in relationship with another, we make ourselves vulnerable. We know this is t= rue in any relationship of love. We = risk intimacy. Being willing to op= en ourselves to intimacy with another is an act of courage. We risk being hurt. We risk appearing foolish. We risk having our hearts given ov= er to the humility it takes to be honest.

Some of us live in the midst of layers upon layers of relationships without real= ly risking the vulnerability of being intimate, of sharing the honest, raw, and glorious inner sanctums of our hearts.

Instead we cloak ourselves in the things we have been taught are lovely. We work hard, we make all the appropriate responses… and we are so lonely we want to sometimes scre= am with the pain of it. Because = we know that there is more to us than we have been encouraged to unpack.<= /o:p>

So we hide. From our loved ones,= from ourselves. And we include in = our intimacy dodge the relationship we have with our God.

The very same God who knit us in our mother’s womb, who calls us by name,= who leans toward us throughout our lives with the outstretched offer of love.

We dodge our God. Maybe because = we call ourselves too busy. Or m= aybe because we are afraid of being intimate with a Creator who asks of us hones= ty about who we are and how we are.

On this day we have the time to open our hearts.=

To decide that we may open the hope filled and tender gift that is our very li= fe, and dance and rest in the arms of our Creator.

Jesus said: I am the vine and you a= re the branches. Attached to the flo= w of life that is found in me, you are meant to be bursting with life.

But you have to decide that you will be attached to that li= fe.

John Wesley was a genius about practical things. He knew that we can SAY that we wa= nt to be ripe sorts of fruits, bursting with love. But in order to be at our juiciest= , we need to practice. We need to = be reminded. We need to remember= daily to open ourselves to the terror and bliss of intimacy with our God.

And so he urged his parishioners to become methodical in their faith practices - hence the word “Methodist”.&nb= sp;

When we seek to be in intimate relationship with another person, we take the tim= e to tend the relationship.

When we seek to be in intimate relationship with our God, we need to take the ti= me to tend that essential relationship. Not because God is standing over us with a lighting bolt, but becaus= e it is the greatest gift we can say “yes” to - to rest in the embra= ce of our Creator.

These cards you have in your bulletin. They are yours to use as you consider how you want to be in relationship with Go= d in the year to come. =

It is your most essential relationship.

Keep your dates with God. <= /p>