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New Year’s Eve Meditation
Gong (three times) Psalm 27:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh - my adversaries and foes - they shall stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. 4 One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. 6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! 8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, Lord, do I seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! 10 If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Music: “Wait For the Lord” Silence (Gong once)
Welcome. Grace, mercy and peace to each of you in the name of Christ. My prayer is that you will find sanctuary here – a place of rest and peace – a place of joy and comfort – no matter who you are or why you have come. I invite you to open your heart this evening to the movement of the Spirit - the Spirit who whispers words of assurance to each of us and to our broken world that God is great. God is our refuge. Glory be to God.
Music: “Sing Out My Soul”
Thomas Mann said, “Time has no divisions to mark its passage. There is never a thunderstorm or a blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month… or a new year. Even when a new century begins, it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.” Time moves on, without pause, silent, unmarked, yet ever moving forward. The old year is passing. We cannot stop its passage. Neither can we undo what we have done, nor do what we have left undone. And despite our best intentions, there is much that is left undone… and much we wish we would have done. Let us spend some moments in silence now, reflecting over the year that has passed… thinking about those things which we did… and left undone… marking the passage of time with the sound of the gong that tolls: January… (silence/gong) February… (silence/gong) March… (silence/gong) April… (silence/gong) May… (silence/gong) June… (silence/gong) July… (silence/gong) August… (silence/gong) September… (silence/gong) October… (silence/gong) November… (silence/gong) and December.
Longer Silence (Gong twice)
Yet, in all we do… and leave undone… God knows that we are finite… that we are human. It is through the gift of God’s Son, Jesus that we are saved… from our humanness… and from all that keeps us from living the life that God wishes for us. And so, it is to our Savior that we turn for help, praying the same prayer that the thief on the cross prayed:
Music: “Jesus, Remember Me”Silence
Listen to the words God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you… he who formed you…: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” We are promised new life and forgiveness for all our shortcomings. The burden of our guilt is lifted from our shoulders.
Brief silence
As we move through the days and weeks of the coming year, there will be times that challenge us. There will be times when we become discouraged … and so disheartened that we cannot find the strength to continue. But those are the times when God is with us, holding us up. God spoke through Isaiah to say these words to us: “You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… Do not fear, for I am with you… I am with… everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Brief silence
The words of our Brief Statement of Faith come from many places in scripture. It tells us that “We belong to God” and that “nothing in life or in death can ever separate us from the love of God.” In times of great tragedy, we cling to these words for hope… and, in the midst of deep darkness, a light shines. Let me share with you an story from this past week… and an email message which came today. We have all heard of the overwhelming devastation in South and Southeast Asia caused by the earthquake and tsunami. More than 125,000 people are dead and millions left homeless. Students from Austin College had planned a January Term trip to Thailand and Myanmar. When tragedy struck, they could easily have cancelled their trip and no one would have blamed them. Instead, they chose to give up their holiday to raise money and gather medical supplies for the people suffering from the effects of the disaster. They sent an email to me and to my parents asking for advice about what to do with their gifts and we put them in contact with the national Protestant church in Thailand - a church started by Presbyterian missionaries long ago. Here is the email message that we received today:
“Thanks to your leads, and the endeavors of Raafat Zaki and Dick Yoder, the Austin College group has connected to the gentlemen you specified in your email, and are en route to deliver to them more than a ton of meds (value well beyond $10,000 wholesale...26 duffel bags I can't believe we packed in time), including pediatric meds, and orthopedic splints for breaks, sprains, etc. They have also received several thousand $ in donations, while they'll split between Bangkok and Myanmar. We took care to check every individual bottle and product to make certain it still had many months left before expiration.
It was a blessed and very wild ride, with local TV channels doing their part to help. We actually received many boxes of gauze, bandages etc. that they couldn't take, but I'll be taking them down to MediSend in Dallas Monday, and they will go either to Indonesia, OR, if there's someone in Bangkok with the time to go to the port to receive a pallet, we may still be able to send those to Thailand as well. Otherwise, they'll go to Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Without your help connecting to the folks in Thailand, this faith-building experience would never have been possible for our Austin College students. As with many Spirit-led endeavors, many people had a piece of the vision and a piece of the information, but it took bringing all those pieces together for it to work - and having a trustworthy NON-governmental recipient was key to the entire endeavor. “
The light of hope shines in the darkness. Through the leading of the Spirit, the people in South and Southeast Asia will receive the hope that these young people bring on their journey. And through the leading of that same Spirit, these young people will have an educational experience that will surpass anything they could imagine.
Brief silence
Anne Frank once said, “How wonderful it is that we do not have to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” A new year unfolds before us. How will you choose to use it? What will your relationship with God be like in the new year? Through the Prophet Isaiah, God says to us: “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” We have the opportunity to join our God in the creation of something new… here at this church… and in our own lives. The time that we have is a gift from God. How great and wonderful our God is!
Silence Music: “Bless the Lord, My Soul”
We come to a time where you have the opportunity to speak out your prayers, among these, your brothers and sisters. A prayer of thanks for a God who accepts us as we are… a God who transforms all that we bring. A prayer for someone who is in need of God’s healing touch… for someone lost or alone. You may speak your prayer out loud… or silently to yourself. It does not matter if two people speak at once… remember that our God can hear all our prayers. However it is that the Spirit is leading you to pray, know that our prayers are lifted to the ears of a listening God who gently bears all of our joys and concerns.
SilenceMaxine Henderson rings the church bell
As you hear the bells ring in the New Year, know that we are created, claimed and called by the One who is Love… and sent Love to be with us. Now, this great God gives us the gift of a new year… and an opportunity to do new things. Go in peace and may the God of peace be with you.
Music: “Bless the Lord, My Soul”
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