Welcome to 2023! Have you made any resolutions? Have you broken any yet?

While New Year’s resolutions may not be your thing, most of us seem to head into the new year with some intention to do and/or be better. This year I’m going to eat less and walk more; watch less TV and read more; spend less and save more. And from this list and the many more good intentions we could add, getting into shape seems regularly to come out on top.

Like many of you, taking better care of my physical body is an ongoing goal and a continuing struggle. And while I want to be a good steward of the body God has blessed me with, I am both comforted and challenged by Paul’s words to his young protégé, Timothy:

…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come, 1 Timothy 4:7–8 (NIV).

First, Paul affirms the value of caring for our bodies. I think we could extrapolate that Paul would affirm the value of many of our new year’s goals and much that is touted in today’s self-care movement. Jesus himself when questioned regarding the greatest commandment, asserted that to love God with all your heart, soul and mind is the first and greatest commandment. It is not doing a disservice to this commandment to argue that loving God with everything we have and are involves taking care of our bodies and managing our time and finances well, among other disciplines.

Today is the first of September, and while most school districts begin classes sometime in August these days, Labor Day weekend still has that sense of marking the end of summer and the beginning of the school year.

Reflecting on my childhood and adolescence, I recall I was never a great student. If you look up average in the dictionary, you might have a picture of me. However, each September as the start of school approached, I was filled with anticipation, and a resolve to do better. I loved the new folders and notebooks, and assured myself this was the year I would be more organized and stay on top of my homework. But alas, within a week or two, I was overwhelmed, underprepared, and most likely behind on an assignment or two—and lacking motivation.

Eventually, I figured out how to be a better student, and did quite well in university and graduate school. But reminiscing on my fitful educational efforts as a child and young person, got me thinking about my successes and failures in seeking to follow the way of Jesus. And actually, what started this whole stream of thought was a brief remark from a  parishioner who stopped by to drop something off.

Lamenting some relational frustrations with people in our lives, I casually threw out the phrase regarding the situation I was addressing, Well, I think they are just trying to follow Jesus, to which my conversation partner immediately replied, Well, aren’t we all? While I was being rather flippant in trying to assign a positive motive to someone’s irritating behavior—and not so subtly casting myself in a more noble light—my friend's response grabbed my attention and brought me up short.

As we head into the holidays and the days grow short and the weather cools, those of you older than fifty may find yourself humming the tune made famous by Andy Williams lo those many years ago, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Whether or not you agree with the song, most people look forward to the “trinity” of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day with at least a warm feeling as they anticipate a day or two off, the music, the pageantry, the lights, the food, the gift giving and receiving — the joy and laughter of gathering with family and friends.

Alternately, some view the holiday season as The Most Stressful Time of the Year or The Most Melancholy Time of the Year as they worry about preparations to be made, money to be spent, family to be accommodated and griefs revisited. The truth is that for most of us, this time of year confronts us with a broad range of opportunities and emotions.  We manage as best we can, and try to hang on to and foster a sense of peace and goodwill in the context of the reality of our daily lives. The reality is that some years are easier to manage than others. With the economy on the skids, a looming contentious election cycle, the continuation of war, rumors of wars, and the threat of a winter COVID surge, this might be one of those years when the demons of anxiety, depression and despair seek to overthrow the angels of peace, joy and hope.

Several years ago on my birthday, friends gave me the kind of gift that truly keeps on giving —a dwarf Bearss lime tree. It came in a large, beautiful clay pot that has graced our patio and produced juicy limes, that for almost a decade have added zing and zest to a variety of drinks and meals.

Sadly, over the past year or so, likely due to my lack of gardening know-how, my Bearss lime tree seemed to be dead or dying. I tried pruning, fertilizing and watering, but alas, my efforts were fruitless. A couple of months ago, I finally gave up and cut the tree down to a bare stump in preparation for removing the plant from its pot and starting over with something else. However, within a few days of my drastic —should I say, fatal, action —a small green shoot appeared next to the dead stump. At first, I assumed it was a weed, but it now appears to be a new Bearss lime sapling. In a few weeks, the dead stump has disappeared behind a small, verdant forest of new growth. Whether my lime tree will recover and bear delicious limes again remains to be seen. But the sight of this luxurious new growth from something I had assumed was dead, has been a beautiful, humbling reminder—while death and decay are undeniable in this fallen world—life is at work too, often in ways not immediately obvious to my eyes or my intellect.