Endings and Beginnings

Homily for December 31, the Seventh Day of Christmas

As the reading from the First Letter of St. John reminds us today, we have reached the final hours of year of our Lord 2024. Ironically, the Gospel text for today takes us back to the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, which, in turn, takes us back to the beginning of God’s creation of the universe. On this last day of the year, we are reminded of the great gift we have received: the Word made flesh, the True Light coming into the world.

We stand on the threshold of a new year, a new beginning. We are not promised tomorrow, after all. We may not even have the rest of today! So, the church in her wisdom presents us with these words from John to help us remember the serenity, mercy, and grace of God as well as the gift of every day.

Our responsorial Psalm bids us “Sing to the Lord a new song,” for the steadfast love of God has brought us to the beginning of yet another day. God’s mercies are new every morning.

Many people will take time today to make New Year’s resolutions, hoping to improve their health, their relationships, their status in the world. Those are great ideas, but they are not enough. While we all expect to have a long happy future here on earth, we are also hoping to spend eternity in heaven.

Today is a great day to take some time to look at our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. How can we become closer to God? How can we spread the good news to others? How can we make the world a better place? There is no better investment of our time than to ponder the answer to these questions.