Sermon for New Years’ Eve -12/31/2023

Rev. Enzo Pellini

Galatians 4:4-7

4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[a] 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[b] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

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“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who was, who is and who is to come”. Amen

Today is the last day and, at the same time, the last Sunday of the year 2023. A year that will never return. Although we know that there is no real difference between 2023 and 2024, for us, today marks a point of change. There are many things we ponder, such as what the new year will be like, the new 12-month period we will call 2024. How will it go for us? Will it be good or bad? What difference will it make for us, who are Christians and followers of Jesus Christ? For us, who want to trust in Christ, even in this new period.

Let’s consider New Year’s resolutions, which almost always fail. Robert Maurer, in his book “One Small Step,” a book I recommend, says: “The average American makes the same resolution for ten consecutive years without success. In the next four months, 25 percent of resolutions are abandoned. And those who succeed in keeping their resolutions usually do so after breaking them five or six times in a year.”

What are your New Year’s resolutions? I’ll tell you, according to this book, 3 out of 10 resolutions are abandoned within the first four months. Why? Because they demand too much from people all at once. The brain is not prepared for drastic changes; it sends a signal to the body to protect itself. Drastic change is interpreted as a danger by the brain. So, one must know how to trick the brain, and that’s what the book is about.

The same happens in our Christian life. Surely, many of us want to start living a true life in Christ. Or we want to say that we hope God blesses us in this new year, or we simply hope things go well for us in this year. How can God bless us in this new year? Only if we have a good fellowship with God. If we are truly in communion with Him. But how to achieve fellowship if I always fail, can’t fulfill His commandments?

It happens in our Christian life almost like with New Year’s resolutions. We are not able to fully comply with God’s commandments. So, what is the solution to have a true communion with God so that He can truly bless us in 2024? And it’s almost like what this book suggests, only through small steps.

The first small but significant step we must take is to surrender our lives to Christ through a spiritual decision. Truly say to Him: “Lord, I want to start living my life in 2024 truly believing and trusting in You. I want to believe in You and surrender my life to You.” It’s a decision of the heart. I also know that I cannot trust 100%, even if I intend to. I know I cannot fulfill 100% of Your commandments, even if I intend to. But You tell me to feel free, not a slave to Your laws but free because I don’t need to be perfect to attain salvation. What I need is to be honest and humble, acknowledge my sins, vulnerabilities, failures, and, even with the sincere intention to live my life according to Your will, admit that I cannot do it alone.

That’s what living in a family relationship with God is about. Not as a master to a slave, but as a father to a son, or a mother to a child. Today, the apostle brings an interesting comparison with the word “Abba,” the term Jesus used for His Father, Abba. What does Abba mean? It’s Daddy. How do you call your parents or used to call them? If you haven’t had a good relationship with your father, we can imagine with your mother, for illustrative purposes. I still call my father “Daddy,” (Papi) and my mother “Mommy.” (Mami) My children don’t call me Enzo; they call me “Papi.” Why? Because it’s an affectionate way to address the father, or mommy to the mother, demonstrating a relationship of affection and trust. Similarly, if we can call our God as we call our parents, it means we have a true relationship of affection, love, and trust. God is not a master of a slave but someone with whom we have a relationship or communion. It means that God is by our side; we can talk to Him and trust Him. Why can we trust? Because a relationship of intimacy has been established. God is our friend, beyond our imperfections. God knows our shortcomings, our sins, but still understands us, forgives us, and gives us new strength to continue. That’s what it’s about, as I’ve been preaching many times this year, starting to have a true fellowship based on our honesty and sincerity with God.

“So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” The apostle Paul is explaining that, through faith in Jesus Christ, people cease to be slaves to the law and become children of God, heirs of His promises and blessings. This message emphasizes the importance of a personal relationship with God based on grace and love, in contrast to living under the regime of the law. Before the arrival of Christ, all people had to fulfill the laws of Moses, which are now part of our Old Testament, to be faithful believers. The only way to be considered a true faithful child of God with the possibility of obtaining eternal life was to faithfully fulfill the law, especially the Ten Commandments. In other words, the more obedient, faithful, or holy we were, the more God would love us, and we would receive everything He promised. The less we complied with the law, the fewer chances there were for God to love us and for us to obtain salvation.

What Christ brought differently is that God saves us through our faith and surrender to Him, primarily not based on our merits, sacrifices, or perfect compliance with commandments. Jesus Christ interceded before God, took on the sins of the world so that God the Father would have mercy on humanity. The only condition He asks of us is to love Christ, accept that He is the Son of God, and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. That is the message of the good news we spoke of last Christmas Eve. And that is what will liberate us completely. And also, if there are people who still don’t know, what will free us to live a year 2024 free, no longer enslaved to law compliance but free because we know that God loves us simply because He is good and wants to give us salvation. We don’t have to make a special sacrifice or superhuman efforts to attain His love and obtain salvation; the only condition, however, as I said, is to accept and believe in Him and surrender our lives to Him.

Now, let’s consider how this message of freedom and new life relates to the New Year’s resolutions we often make. Just as we recognize our inability to fully comply with the law, we also face the reality of our New Year’s resolutions that sometimes fail. Self-sufficiency leads us to set unrealistic expectations, resulting in frustration and disappointment. Today, God asks us to stop considering ourselves self-sufficient and to place all our trust in Him. Let’s put the entire year 2024 with all the fears, insecurities, and worries it may bring, and surrender our lives to Him so that He may work. We are His children, and as children, He wants to take care of us throughout this year according to our surrender to Him. Martin Luther stated, “Care and effort do not go against faith, but worry goes against God.”

May God give us, in this sense, a wonderful and fruitful year, in God’s terms. And may we truly succeed in our New Year’s resolutions for 2024 to have a true communion with Him. The quality of the new year 2024 will depend on that relationship.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you in this new year.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.