On the 8th Day

For most of the world this Sunday is New Year’s Eve and they will be looking toward the new year and reflecting on the past year. But for the Christian church, this is also a different holiday. We celebrate Mary and Joseph bringing baby Jesus on the 8th day to the temple to be named and circumcised. Mary participates in the ritual cleansing after childbirth and the family gives a sacrifice of two turtle doves. We hear from Simeon and Anna as they proclaim that the Holy Child is the Messiah and he has finally come. This Sunday is a formal celebration in the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions.

In 1755, John Wesley encouraged people to gather for New Year’s Eve for a Covenant Renewal Service. Participants would look back over the last year and then recommit themselves for the new year asking God to “do with me what you will.” I have used this Covenant Renewal prayer in worship for the last few years. I find it to be profoundly moving and a reminder that my faithfulness is not assured. I have to be intentional. This prayer is found in our hymnal at #607 in the traditional language.

I am no longer my won, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

I read in an article by UMC Discipleship ministries that this Sunday is especially sacred in other ways.

“In the Black church, Watch Night was first observed on December 31, 1862, as enslaved and free African Americans gathered to worship, pray, sing, and wait for January 1, 1863, the day the Emancipation Proclamation became law. Also called Freedom’s Eve, this first Watch Night led to a yearly worship gathering to mark the turning of the old year into the new. Today, Watch Night services may include remembering the story of slavery and freedom, reflections on faith, the celebration of the community, confession and pardon, and covenant renewal.”*

This year we will gather together on New Year’s Eve and for many being in worship on this particular day has great meaning. For others it is just another day off. But I hope that we may be a community of people that recognize our commitment to our baptismal vows and recommit ourselves to “reject evil, resist injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves and to serve Jesus Christ as Lord.” I invite you to join us in community as we recommit ourselves to wherever God leads, bathed in love and full of grace.

Blessings,