ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 2, 2023
Guest Writer: Rev. Mariah Newell
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 – 11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
These words come after the better know, “For everything there is a season…” verses of Ecclesiastes. We’re fresh into a New Year. A time that is marked with reflection and intentions. Every year during this time I pause and give thanks for the amount of seasons God gives us, as Christians, to have the “New Year” reflection and intentionality more than once a year. We have Advent, Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Lent, and Easter. All of these seasons we pause and reflect on what God has done, still doing, and promises to do in our collective lives. God has given us seasons and rhythms that we share with our siblings in Christ across the globe to “put a sense of past and future” into our minds to remind us that “God’s gift is that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” We are often bogged down with guilt, shame, regret, or “should’ve,” but what a gift to be reminded at every turning season, God greets us with the intention of enjoying all of God’s abundance through the “toil” we do to meet our intentions of following in the footsteps of Christ. That what is weighing us down, isn’t what God is wanting us to carry…and definitely not what we’re meant to carry alone. I hope we take this season and reflect and set our intentions! And when the next season comes knocking too, we’ll do this “toil” again, hopefully, with the same spirit of celebration. In doing the “toil” of putting love first, we revel in God’s gift that we are allowed, and even encouraged, to celebrate our milestones and look forward to where we are going.
Prayer: God, thank you for the seasons, the times of reflection, and the encouragement to set intentions. Comfort us so that we can easily lay down burdens of guilt or shame that we may be holding. Remind us to enjoy your creation and the journey of walking more closely everyday with your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in His name we pray. Amen.
