“You have crowned the year with your kindness.” So begins Psalm 65:11 in the translation used in my morning prayers a few days ago.
“Can I really say that this year?” I asked myself. 2021 does not seem to have been very kind. The pandemic goes on and on. A friend recently died. American politics has seldom been uglier. Can I really say God has crowned the year – this year – with kindness?
And then I stopped and thought. I thought about the marvelous trip I had to the Pacific Northwest in September, visiting friends and family. I thought about turning 70 in March in generally good health. I thought about the beauty of sunrise on the Gulf Coast, about the love and companionship Jan and I share. I thought about the rewarding opportunities I have had this year to preach for several congregations. In a year that has been economically challenging for many, my monthly pension has gone up and our (refinanced) mortgage payment has gone down. Amid all the gloom and worry, I indeed have much for which to be thankful.
Reading through the accounts of Jesus’ birth and childhood in the Gospel of Luke this week, I noticed the two places where it says that his mother “treasured … in her heart” her memories of the words that were spoken, of the events that took place (Luke 2: 19, 51). As Simeon prophesied in the temple (Lk 2: 35), Mary’s life would not always be happy. But it was not always bleak, either.
Mary treasured her memories of God’s kindness. We may well imagine that those treasured memories helped to lift her spirits when the bleak days came.
Let us all treasure our memories of joy as we journey through challenging times. May those memories shine like lights amidst the gloom, just as the growing light of advent candles remind us that God does, indeed, crown the year with glowing kindness.
-- Bill