Background Passages: Isaiah 43:18-19; Philippians 1:4-6
Julius Caesar and his scholars got it all wrong back in 46 BC, when they put the emperor’s name to the Julian calendar. They did the math and calculated that the solar year lasted 365.25 days, To minimize the impact of that .25 days on the seasons, they added a leap day to February every four years to catch up again.
It turns out they shorted the solar year by 11 minutes. For the next 1500 years or so, those 660 seconds per year created havoc with the calendar, causing it to fall out of sync with the seasons.
That Easter no longer fell near the spring equinox concerned Pope Gregory XIII. Using his papal powers, he ordered Aloysus Lilius, an Italian scientist, to take another look in 1582. Under the Gregorian calendar, Lilius devised a slight variation that adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100. If that is not complicated enough, if the leap year is also divisible by 400, a leap day is added regardless.
When Pope Gregory XIII made his pronouncement, the world was slow to adopt it. In 1752 the Parliament in Great Britain finally adopted the Gregorian calendar, advancing the calendar from September 2 to September 14 overnight. Protests erupted across London demanding their days back.
On the other side of the pond, however, Benjamin Franklin welcomed the change, writing, “It is pleasant for an old man to be able to go to bed on September 2, and not have to get up until September 14.”
If there was ever a year in which I could stand losing 11 days, it was 2020. It was nice this week to put last year in my rear-view mirror.
The pandemic and its wide-ranging impact on our lives, consumed our thoughts over the past 12 months…and three hours. It certainly tested our faith. I have to admit, I let the weirdness of the year get the better of me at times. Every time it did, it seemed God found a way to remind me of his presence and his love. I’m grateful we worship a God who is bigger than circumstance.
It is fast becoming one of my favorite verses in the Bible throughout the year. However, at the beginning of each new year, it is especially meaningful.
“Forget the former things: do not dwell on the past. See! I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
God spoke those words to Isaiah in the middle of his promise of restoration to the exiled and enslaved Hebrew people.
Hear the excitement in God’s voice as he tries to revive the broken hearts of his people. “See! I am doing a new thing!” It’s as if he is saying, “Look! Wake up! Don’t hang your heads! Look at the exciting things in store for you in the year ahead! I’m getting ready to rock your world! Can’t you see it?”
Maybe you found the past 12 months filled with pain, uncertainty, heartbreak and grief. Maybe you felt disconnected and alone. Maybe you realize you walked a path of your own choosing that took you too far from God. Maybe, like me, you just feel…off…somehow. Just not quite right. Hear God’s word of encouragement. “See! I am doing a new thing!”
When we are wandering in our personal wasteland and wilderness, he reminds us with genuine excitement in his voice, “Have I got plans for you!”
Don’t let the chaos or the Covid-19 distort the reality of your relationship with your God who loves you. Focus on the new thing God is doing in your life. Open your heart to the possibility that this new thing he is doing will be the absolute best thing for your life, your heart and your soul.
If you doubt this promise for a minute, consider Paul’s greeting to the Philippian church.
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:4-6)
The God who began a good work in you will see it to its completion. He will never stop working in our lives. Not in 2021. Not ever. So as we look to this New Year, it’s out with the old and in with this new thing God is doing.
I don’t know about you, but that makes me look forward to what this New Year will bring.
And the good news is that, thanks to Aloysus Lilius, we will have another 26 seconds longer this year than we should for God to get it done.
Happy New Year!
Shared this with my Bible study group, and you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief in the room. Thanks for refocusing our view to God’s view!
Thanks for letting me know that, Nancy. When we let go of our self-induced stress and let God lead, it’s always easier to breathe.