Happy New Year

 The link to this week's streamed service is here

  

 Many of us had hoped that 2021 was going to see the end of the pandemic, but here we are, beginning 2022 with yet another wave and more warnings from public health officers. With Omicron we have to put ourselves in a different mind set. With previous variations the goal was to keep the case count low. With Omicron, exposure is inevitable, according to Dr. Henry. Now the goal is to keep hospitalizations low. The question of the year -- is it safe yet?

    This virus is a test of our patience, our perseverance and our ability to live with the unknown. Uncertainty is anathema to the human psyche. In a 1927 essay, the legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft wrote that “the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Decades of research have borne out his thesis. With this pandemic, the entire world is coping with uncertainty and "Uncertainty acts like rocket fuel for worry."   

 One of the New Year's hymns in our Book of Praise lifts gratitude and praise to God as an antidote to fear and uncertainty. 

At Thy feet our God and Father,
Who hast blest us all our days,
We with grateful hearts would gather
To begin the year with praise:

Dr. Kirk, late of this congregation, has written an essay on this hymn where we proclaim the certainty of God's love and His blessings on us all.

The three stanzas of this hymn reflect a kaleidoscope of our human life. The first refers to what has been as we cast our thoughts back over the year that has gone; the second emphasizes the importance of God's love to us in the present; and the third turns our thoughts to the future, the close of this life and the beginning of eternity.

As we contemplate the year that has ended we can see how God has been at work in our lives in many ways. As He promised ( Ps. 119, 105; John 8:12) He has provided light for our path. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step, what we have to do in the coming hour or the coming day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. But not only has He provided illumination for our steps, God has also provided in His love, for our physical needs, granting us our daily bread.

God's great love for us has been demonstrated in its most wonderful form in His sending Hi Son, Jesus Christ, into our world to die for us on the Cross. Confronted with such love, we ourselves are forced to response in love by surrendering our lives to Christ. And when we do so, we have the joy of knowing that Jesus becomes not only our Saviour but also our Friend who accompanies us along the road of life, guiding us as we journey along and acting as our guard against all the enemies and foes who lie in wait to attack us.

If Christ accompanies us on the road of life, there is no need to fear the future because each day will be brightened by His presence. If Christ accompanies us, we need not be concerned about the burdens of life because He will be bearing them with us. If Christ accompanies us, we need not fear death, because we know that He has overcome death and our future is secure in the home He has prepared for us. And so we will trust Him to provide the strength we need to serve Him day by day and we will look forward with expectation to the greater joy of sharing His glory in His kingdom. 

It is human nature to worry, to fear the unknown. The antidote to worry is trust. Let us put our trust in God and greet 2022 with hope and glad hearts.