Reflections
for
the Year of the Lord 2004
A Vital New Year's Resolution: Read and Hear the Holy Scriptures!
By Archbishop Demetrios of America
The beginning of the New Year offers many people an opportune time to make
or renew commitments, to set or adjust goals, to make a "fresh start"
toward improving, enhancing or changing their lives. This sense of newness
and the impetus it gives to change is basically the result of how we mark
time. One year is completed, and a new one begins. Another
year with its
struggles and accomplishments, victories and defeats has passed, and a New
Year filled with possibilities has begun.
Certainly, the feelings, thoughts, and actions that this annual transition
inspires are linked to the innate desire to find peace, to secure and
enhance well-being, and to improve mind, body, and soul. However, the
challenge faced by many in their attempt to do any of these things is
finding guidance among the myriad of "life-changing" programs and
self-help
products. In addition, we live in a world and a culture that continuously
offers goals for living and definitions of success that are as transitional
as time itself. Just as the previous year has passed, so too do the
"latest" means and methods for self-improvement.
As Christians we are truly blessed to have guidance that has not only stood
the test of time but will also lead us to eternity. Our provident and
gracious God has given to us the Holy Scriptures, a sacred text that "is
useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient,
equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17). Within the pages of
the
Holy Scriptures we have not only God's plan for our salvation from evil,
sin, and death, but we have a wealth of divine truth, wisdom, knowledge,
and direction that nurtures the mind, soul, and body in the way of peace
and life. Through historical narrative, stories, teachings, hymns, and
prayers that acknowledge in the most specific ways the conditions of our
lives, the Holy Scriptures direct our attention first and foremost to
Christ, the one who knows intimately our human experience and who will
guide us in fulfilling our potential as persons created in the image of
God. Through the record of our Lord's ministry and teaching and that of
His Apostles, and throughout all of the Scriptures, we find tremendous
resources that guide us in setting goals, improving our well-being, and
achieving new heights of knowledge, understanding, and communion with God
and one another. Moreover, we can be assured that when one year passes
into another, or even if heaven and earth passes away, the words of our
Lord will not pass away (Matthew 24:35); the guidance provided to us within
the pages of the Holy Scriptures will be applicable today, tomorrow, and
into the ages to come.
In this New Year, we must resolve to read and to hear the Holy Scriptures.
As we gather for worship in our parishes, we must listen attentively to the
readings. We must resolve to teach and preach in a manner that not only
affirms our commitment to the Gospel of truth, but also in a way that
relates the Truth to the lives of people. We must also resolve to read the
Scriptures regularly. Through reading, study, prayer, and teaching, we will
find divine guidance for living in this world; we will understand growth
and change in terms of our spiritual lives and well-being; and our lives
will be filled with the knowledge and the presence of the One who came to
be with us?Jesus Christ our Lord.
May His blessings be with you and your
families in this New Year.
+DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America