Pastor's Message

A New Year’s Resolution… or a ‘New Revolution’?
 
The dictionary defines a “year” as the “time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.”  Every New Year’s Eve, our planet ends up at roughly the same place in relation to our Sun: 365.25 days ago, we started a whole new orbit or revolution around the Sun.  Things change as our Earth revolves around the Sun. Both the angle of the Earth to the Sun and the distance of the Earth from the Sun change. Beginning in January, the Sun shines a little longer each day and causes winter to give way to spring and the earth to bud. Spring gives way to summer and abundant life.  Things change after the summer solstice (the longest day of the year); days become shorter, so that summer turns into fall and a harvest is taken. Fall eventually gives way to another winter and we start all over again.  The orbit of the Earth around the Sun is constant and predictable; as a consequence, the seasons change with great predictability and reliability. Every New Year’s, our hemisphere is given a fresh start: spring is around the corner and with it, the possibility of new life. It is no wonder that at this time of the year, as our hemisphere begins a new journey, human beings almost instinctively want to join in and make a new beginning - and make resolutions for the coming year.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, every news program and talk show run specials on the past year. Some programs highlight and reflect on the big news stories of the year. Others look at the performance of the economy.  Still others look at the successes and failures of Hollywood celebrities over the past year. Time Magazine picks the ‘Person of the Year’.  People Magazine picks the ‘100 Most Interesting People of the Year’. Other magazines pick the best dressed and worst dressed, and the ‘sexiest’ man and woman of the year. These lists go on and on.  Our planet and our popular culture seem to drive me to take stock each year.  I review the year in my mind. I remind myself of the personal and professional goals I had set.  I count the goals met, that is, what I accomplished.  I count my failures - the goals not reached - and think about what I could have done differently. I also look at events which occurred and for which I did not plan or could not have foreseen happening - and how I could have responded to these events in a more positive way.       

Reflection on the last year drives me to make new plans for the year coming up. It causes me to want to set new personal and professional goals for the coming year. Attaining some of these goals require positive action on my own part, while other goals require that I discipline myself not to engage in a certain behavior. I always seem to set a goal which involves spending more time preparing for sermons, Bible studies and visitation and less on administrative work. Another goal is to spend more time with my family. Increasing my giving to the church and other charities are always goals. I always seem to resolve to save more and spend less.  I always resolve to eat more fruits and vegetables and less junk food. I also always vow to exercise more and spend less time sitting. I want to be kinder and gentler. I want to be a better witness for God in the way I live my life.  Yet I haven’t reached these goals in the past, and most likely will not reach these goals in the coming year. Why?

The reason is this: I’m a lot like the planet Earth. I am stuck in an orbit. I want to live a better life; I can visualize it and for brief moments I can even participate in it, yet, I keep being pulled in by a gravitational pull. The offending gravity is my inner person, who:  likes junk food better than fruits and vegetables, procrastinates,  is unfocused,  is undisciplined, takes shortcuts,  wants to avoid conflict and does not want to sacrifice! The harder I try to leave that gravitational pull and be different, the more intense the pull gets until I can’t resist and I fall back into my dysfunctional patterns. What can I do? Am I doomed to live this life of constant failure? The answer is yes - until I understand the underlying problem. The problem is that I am stuck in an orbit and cannot pull myself out of it. Something from the outside has to pull me out of the orbit which revolves around my dysfunctional inner self. Only a stronger body can pull me out of my orbit and into its orbit.  Jesus’ disciples experienced a gravitational pull that pulled each of them from their orbit around their dysfunctional inner self.

Jesus met Matthew as he sat at his tax booth. Matthew was a despised man, a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman Empire - the same empire that often brutally oppressed many of Matthew’s fellow citizens. Matthew could not associate in polite society. His friends were fellow tax collectors and men and women who made their living plying illegal and illicit trades. Yet, “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9) During this journey, which lasted three years, Matthew experienced Jesus’ preaching, teaching and his miracles. He also witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection. Matthew had experienced more than a change in his life.  His old self melted away and a new identity emerged. His life no longer revolved around himself, now his life revolved around Jesus.  Matthew was inspired by God’s Holy Spirit to write an orderly account of these experiences. God has used Matthew’s words to pull people from their orbits around their dysfunctional inner selves for two thousand years.   

I grew up in the church. I attended church regularly and had heard the Gospel preached many times.  However, when I reached the age of thirty-six, I began to hear the Gospel in a new way. I read the New Testament daily. I read through the entire Old Testament. God’s Word began to pull me out of the orbit I was in. I really experienced Jesus say, “Follow me.”  As time passed, I began to crave a new life. By God’s grace, I believe that Jesus put me on a new path. The path led to seminary and a call to Grace Lutheran Church in West Kelowna.  Every day I experience my life revolving more around Jesus and less around myself (although the dysfunctional inner self often still gets in the way). Every journey requires a risk. It is comfortable to orbit around the dysfunctional inner self and even gratifying; however, nothing compares with a new orbit and life. So, I invite you to take the risk and experience a new revolution in your life. Come join us for worship Sundays at 10:30 AM, and an Adult Bible Study at 9:30 AM.              

May God bless you and yours this New Year!
Pastor Ed Skutshek

© Grace Lutheran Church Kelowna 2006
Grace Lutheran Church is a member congregation of CALC and LCMC