Yesterday I attended a local Mass to celebrate the New Year but also Mary, the mother of Jesus. The priest spoke about Janus, the ancient Roman God with two heads, one facing the back and one facing the front. The idea being that January is a time on reflecting on the past but also looking into the future. This fascinated me. So, I looked up Janus and found out that the same root word gave us the word Janitor which we also know as the custodian.
I feel our Christian faith is just that, a constant reflection and learning from the past but always facing the future with confidence and strength. So, what have we learned from our past? What are we confidently looking forward to?
I have learned that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I have learned that His prayer for us to be one (John 17:21) is an ongoing struggle. I have learned that by forgetting him and his ministry we can easily be distracted by form and structure that were once created to keep us focused on who created us for His purpose and being. So, there comes a time when we have to do what Jesus did, reflect on the past to learn from it and then commit to achieving God’s purpose with a renewal of mind and spirit.
This is my New Year’s resolution: to be transformed by the renewal of my mind and spirit (Romans 12:2), what is yours?