Today we stand at a holy crossroad. Behind us lies the Year of Jubilee: a season of grace, restoration, and renewal. Before us stretches a new year, full of unknowns, challenges, and possibilities. This moment invites us not merely to mark time, but to reflect deeply on what God has been doing among us, and what He now calls us to become.
The New Year is not merely to mark the passing of time, but to place the beginning of a new era firmly in the hands of God. The old year has ended, and with it, the Year of Jubilee of Hope. Now we stand at the doorway of a new beginning. The turning of the year reminds us of a powerful truth that God is the author of beginnings. The New Year is not about forgetting the past but about trusting God with what lies ahead.
The just concluded Jubilee year reminded us that God desires freedom for His people. Freedom from fear that holds us back, freedom from burdens that weigh us down, freedom from resentment, regret, and hopelessness. While that sacred year has ended, her spirit and loving fruits must not end with it. What God has restored in us is meant to shape how we live from this day forward.
Scripture tells us in Isaiah 43:19, “See, I am doing a new thing; now it springs up, do you not perceive it?”. God does not promise that the New Year will be easy, but He promises that it will not be empty of His presence. Every new beginning comes with uncertainty, but also with grace.
As we start this year, we carry in our hearts different emotions. While some come with hope and expectation, others come with weariness, unanswered prayers, or quiet fears. Yet, the New Year reminds us that God meets us exactly where we are. We do not step into this year alone; we step into it with the God who goes before us.
The call of this New Year is not perfection, but faithfulness. Faithfulness in prayer, faithfulness in love, faithfulness in living out the mercy and compassion we celebrated during the Jubilee Year. When we choose forgiveness, generosity, and justice in our daily lives, we continue the work God has begun in us.
As the Jubilee Year of Hope ends and a New Year begins, let us dedicate this year to the Lord and place our plans, our families, our work, and our future into His hands. Let’s make this year a faith-growing year, where love grows stronger, and hope shines brighter even in uncertain times. May we walk forward with renewed hearts, trusting that the God who has brought us this far will lead us onward. For His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness endures forever.
Fr. Charles Onumaegbu
Chaplain, Deaf Ministry