1. feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
2. having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation).
The word "happy" shows up in the NRSV translation of the Old Testament 56 times. Only once in the New Testament.
I have been thinking about this greeting "Happy New Year." On one hand it is a hope filled greeting. A greeting filled with anticipation and expectation of a better year than the last. On the other, it is also an ironic statement. We all know from a lifetime of experience it never really will be a year of happiness. We may have fleeting moments of pleasure or contentment. We might in moments have a sense of confidence or satisfaction. The irony is in the transition from year to year. 2025 was a brutal year and if we look forward, 2026 does not look a whole lot better.
I know. You are thinking, "Wow, what a downer Pastor Berg!" I could focus on the opportunity for a great year, the anticipation for the awesome things that could happen in the new year. I mean the Mariners might go to the World Series this year.
But, as so often is true, expectations are easily unfulfilled.
Instead I have been wondering what it might be like to change perspective; to put on our Christian lenses and to see the world as it is to be seen. As we move into a new year it might be good to acknowledge that we, as a people, as a community, have not lived up to the needs of our neighbors. Jesus looks upon the broken, the lost, the cold, the hungry, the ill, and claims them to be his kin. How might we go into this transitional moment saying, "Blessed is this New Year, for we will be given opportunity to serve the Lord." In this way we may be motivated to serve Jesus' kin, to make their lives happier. To facilitate ways to offer them opportunities to be content and safe.
Psalm 41:1: Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
I will say "Happy New Year" to you all, but with the thought that that happiness will be turned on those in not so happy circumstances. May our ministry continue to grow in our support of those who have been oppressed and politically forgotten and in doing so, discover true happiness.
Psalm 84:12: O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trust in you.
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