{"id":11675,"date":"2015-01-01T09:57:12","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T14:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?p=11675"},"modified":"2015-03-13T22:49:12","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T02:49:12","slug":"bonum-novum-annum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2015\/01\/01\/bonum-novum-annum\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonum Novum Annum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"bw3in<\/a><\/p>\n

BONUM NOVUM ANNUM<\/p>\n

Why is new important
\nIf old can do the job?<\/p>\n

Why a cause to celebrate
\nOr perchance to sob?<\/p>\n

Thank Julius for the calendar
\nIt didn\u2019t come from God.<\/p>\n

It seems so strange we celebrate
\nThe arbitrary and odd. <\/p>\n

Janus at least was two-faced
\nHe looked back and ahead.<\/p>\n

But we seem to like it better
\nIf we consider the old year dead.<\/p>\n

And even the numbered year itself
\nComes from a short monk\u2019s error.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 birth did not transpire
\nAfter Herod\u2019s death and terror. <\/p>\n

So what is it we celebrate
\nWith fireworks and so much fizz?<\/p>\n

Is it the chance to start anew,
\nAnd redefine what is? <\/p>\n

Is it the chance to be born again,
\nAnd this time get it right?<\/p>\n

Is it the chance to find true love
\nTurn darkness into light? <\/p>\n

Is it the chance to realize
\nIt really could be worse? <\/p>\n

You could be homeless, jobless
\nOr lying in a hearse. <\/p>\n

You could be stuck in prison
\nWith meaningless days to fill. <\/p>\n

You could be an abandoned teen
\nLooking for a thrill. <\/p>\n

You could be a drug addict
\nWho\u2019s sold his life for a hit.<\/p>\n

You could be living in a war zone
\nWaiting for the end of it. <\/p>\n

Where and when you\u2019re born,
\nAnd to whom you did not choose, <\/p>\n

Why should you think that trivial things
\nMean that you can\u2019t lose?<\/p>\n

There are no lucky numbers
\nOr lucky years at all. <\/p>\n

There are no astrological signs
\nThat made you short or tall. <\/p>\n

Chance is just the residue
\nOf choices good and bad? <\/p>\n

In the right place by accident
\nThe outcome happy or sad? <\/p>\n

So much of life is inscrutable
\nYou cannot figure it out. <\/p>\n

You have to move on faith,
\nEven if you\u2019re prone to doubt. <\/p>\n

If you look at life as a tapestry
\nOf divine design.<\/p>\n

We look at it from the back side
\nSeeking a promising sign. <\/p>\n

There seems to be a pattern
\nBut we see it upside down.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t tell which bit\u2019s the sky
\nAnd which bit is the ground. <\/p>\n

As creatures of hope
\nWe turn our faces towards the rising Son,
\nTrusting there is tomorrow,
\nTrusting he is the one. <\/p>\n

And even if time is running out,
\nAnd nothing human\u2019s guaranteed,
\nHe promised he would return
\nAnd meet our every need. <\/p>\n

He promised a new creation,
\nBecause we can\u2019t fix ourselves
\nHe promised a new heaven and earth
\nThe old ones on the shelf. <\/p>\n

So perhaps the New Year is a time
\nFor a reality check,
\nWe cannot remake ourselves
\nOr refurbish our old wreck. <\/p>\n

What we can do is pray
\nAnd trust the One above
\nWill in the course of coming days
\nRemake us with his love. <\/p>\n

Jan. 1, 2015
\nBW3<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BONUM NOVUM ANNUM Why is new important If old can do the job? Why a cause to celebrate Or perchance to sob? Thank Julius for the calendar It didn\u2019t come from God. It seems so strange we celebrate The arbitrary and odd. Janus at least was two-faced He looked back and ahead. But we seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBonum Novum Annum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BONUM NOVUM ANNUM Why is new important If old can do the job? Why a cause to celebrate Or perchance to sob? 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