Read Isaiah 63:7-9; Revelation 21:1-6; Matthew 25:34-40
It’s the very first day of 2023! Happy New Year!
For the church, it was New Year about five weeks ago. We celebrated that Christ is King, and then, the Sunday after that, we started a new year as we looked forward to Christ coming as a baby at Christmas.
Isaiah 63 is good to hear on the Sunday after Christmas. When Jesus came to earth, he was more than a messenger. He was God’s presence. God came to be our Saviour in Jesus and to be with us.
Isaiah starts by praising God. He starts with thanks. He speaks of “the abundance of his steadfast love” (Isa 63:7).
“Steadfast Love”. The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” is written so many times through the Bible. One famous time is in the book of Lamentations. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. …” (Lam 3:22-23).
“New every morning”. Today we have a new year. We sense the freshness of a new page - a new calendar, a new diary. How will we relate to God this year? Will we be negative or positive? We can be honest about our troubles with God; he will listen. But – like in Lamentations - we should also have hope and call to mind that his mercies are new every morning.
In Revelation, there is a vision of God’s new world. In this vision, God says, “Behold, I make all things new”. In this vision, we don’t go up to heaven. No, the Holy City – the new Jerusalem – comes down to earth. It’s just wonderful – “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4). The voice on the throne says, “‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.” (Rev 21:3). The voice is Jesus – Christ the King.
Christ the King is also Christ the baby – the one who came down to earth at Christmas. He came down because of God’s steadfast love. His faithful, selfless love. This is how we should live, too.
That message is similar at the beginning and at the end. Jesus says, “I am Alpha and Omega” – the first letter and the last letter. So here at the year’s start, we can look at the end. How does Jesus want us to live? He says, “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Rev 21:6).
Jesus is with us today by the power of the water of life – by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s an active, bubbling Spirit. It’s a loving Spirit. If we live in the Spirit, we, too, show the steadfast love, the loving-kindness of God. Remember Matthew 25, where Christ the King asks about what we have done. We show signs of God’s new kingdom by acting kindly to others. Not just our favourite people, but everyone who is in need. God doesn’t ask us for miracles: just simple things – feed the poor, give drink to the thirsty, welcome a stranger, give clothes to someone needing them, visit a person in prison (Mt 25:39). Jesus cares about the weakest – if we show practical love to them, Jesus feels it personally. “‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ (Mt 25:40).
Happy New Year! Happy New Day! God’s mercies are new every day. Let’s be thankful to God for his steadfast love, and show it by acting likewise in practical ways to the needy people around us.
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