This is the sentiment expressed around the community this time of year.
I have heard it everywhere; in the various coffee shops, in the newsagent, in Cressy St as I walk around.
And yet, with all the chaos that has gone on in our community with the fire, in the nation with Bondi, and internationally most recently with Venezuela, this sentiment seems somehow hollow, and the hope that we might have for a “happy” New Year seems to have passed by.
However, we do have hope.
On Sunday, some of our churches celebrated the Epiphany (although the Epiphany is actually today) and it is through the arrival of the Magi, or wise men as they are known, that we find hope.
Scripture tells us that these men saw a star and ended up in Jerusalem asking King Herod where the one born king of the Jews might be.
And Scriptures tells us that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, so they went there, found Jesus and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were given.
The key to hope, which is our hope in Jesus lies in the character of the men who came to Jesus.
Even though they were not part of the religious community they still responded to God’s promise to give a Messiah to lead people away from the chaos of the world that they lived in and to make them sit rightly with God.
Their following of the star showed that all people can come to God and be part of the community of hope that has been established through the birth of Jesus.
Of course, all the community is able to be part of the celebration of the birth of the Messiah.
That is, of course, the celebration of Christmas with family, giving gifts, and joining together in love and community.
With the chaos in our community, in our time, perhaps the New Year could be a time when our focus shifts from the chaos of the world to being part of the hope that Jesus’ birth delivers.
The arrival of the Magi shows us that the promise of God, to make all things right for all people, is real and eternal, not just for the new year, but for all time.
~ Contributed by Fr Tim Fogo from St Paul’s Anglican Church, on behalf of the Combined Churches of Deniliquin.
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