Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to you all! I pray that 2025 will be, for you and those you love, a year filled with peace, good health and joy.
The month of January was named after Janus, whom the Romans believed to be the god of endings and beginnings. Whenever the Romans depicted Janus he was shown as having two faces – one looking backward, to the past, and one looking forward, to the future. For the Romans, Janus was also the god of entrances and exits and his image would often be found at the doorways of Roman buildings. He would be invoked in prayer on entering and leaving a private dwelling or a public building to seek his protection. It was also customary for the Romans to offer sacrifices to Janus at the beginning of a new year, in the hope that he would bring good fortune to the worshipper.
As Christians we believe Jesus to be the God of endings and beginnings. In the Book of Revelation, the Lord says to us ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.’ (Revelation 22.13). In their worship of Janus, it was as if the Romans were searching for the true God who would be with them as they crossed the threshold from the past to the future. They yearned for some benign power that would accompany them into the unknown. In Jesus the Romans would eventually discover the God who did exactly that, the God who walks with His people on whatever journey they might take.
A New Year can very much feel like a Gateway between the past and the future. A time to take stock of the year that has ended, perhaps to remember previous years, and an opportunity to dream about things we hope the future may hold. All this may fill us with excitement, or it may leave us feeling rather unsettled. So much lies ahead of us but so much of it, as yet, is unknown. Standing on a threshold can be a scary place. There can be such a mixture of challenge and blessings; both from the past, and from things that await us.
There is a lovely Jewish tradition that recognizes this. The Romans may have placed images of Janus on their doorposts but in Judaism there is the practice of fixing words of scripture on doorposts, as a reminder of God’s presence. Those who pass through, are encouraged to touch or kiss these words on entering or leaving a dwelling as a way of acknowledging that God is our constant guardian, watching over the comings and goings of life. In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about doors and gateways as places of hope, invitation and opportunity. He even described himself as ‘The Door’ or ‘The Gate’, reminding us that there can be something holy about change and transition. ‘Knock, and the door shall be opened’, Jesus said. These words might encourage us to welcome whatever the New Year may bring, with hopeful and expectant hearts.
May Jesus be our companion at the beginning of 2025 and may He be the door we pass through as we enter a New Year with hopes and rears, its challenges and opportunities. God bless us all as we pass over the threshold from 2024 to 2025.