Auld Lang Syne -
Deuteronomy 4:9 - Only be careful, and watch
yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or
let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children
and to their children after them.
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about being done with 2021. I get it.
I’m done with it too. At times,
the pain of this year was unbearable.
Even as I recall it right now, the tears form in my eyes. I can’t remember a more difficult year in my
50+ years of life. And of course, I’ve
had way better than so many millions of people.
Am I ready for hopefully a better 2022?
You bet I am.
If only it was that easy – just tearing the last page from
the 2021 calendar and all the badness was purged and all the goodness was
ushered in. We know it won’t be that
simple – 2022 will be here tomorrow and just like today, more will die of
Covid-19 in our country. Racism will
still be with us. Deep divisions will
persist. People will still be hungry and
looking for jobs. Suicides, domestic
violence, and mental health crises will still be at alarming levels. I have hope that 2022 can be better than 2021,
but it won’t be better by us just pretending that all that ugliness is behind
us.
The song for today opens by essentially asking the question,
should the past be forgotten? The answer
is no. Part of the way we move forward
in 2022 is that we remember what we’ve come through and we build on the lessons
that ordeal has taught us. 2021 has
taught us many things that we will need to make 2022 better. The Birmingham Choir that sings “Auld Lang
Syne” is singing that Scottish tune in an Alabama church that once forbid black
people to come in. That’s progress made
on the realization that the prejudice of the past is wrong. 2020 and 2021 has forced me to see prejudice
in myself that I didn’t know was there.
It would easy to conveniently slip back into that ignorance than it is
to be honest about the soul-stretching work I need to do so that I may love
better than I did in the past.
Don’t get me wrong.
At midnight tonight, I will indeed celebrate this hellish year being
over. But I will do so with the
resolution to be clear-eyed about another difficult year that is ahead of
us. I pray for God to lead us as
continue to work to avoid further harm, do all the good we can, and stay in love
with God.
Question: What have
your learned about yourself in 2021 that you will need to make 2022 better?
Prayer: Thank you God
for bringing us through the past year.
Heal us, strengthen us, and draw us together that with your help we can
face the year ahead with confidence and faith. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for all those working to get COVID-19 vaccines to the masses all over the
world.
Song - Community Choir in Birmingham - Auld Lang Syne
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