Rector’s Reflections
Thursday 9th January 2025
Some Thoughts for the Beginning of a New Year
In yesterday’s reflections, I shared some thoughts on the idea of sowing the seed of a new beginning. As we start this New Year, where might we be seeing the seed of a new beginning, waiting to be sown in our lives?
As I write these words, my mind is turning to one of the most familiar of Jesus’ parables: the Parable of the Sower. The fact that this parable is found in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) shows how important it was to guiding the life and understanding of the early Christian communities.
Although the Parable of the Sower is a familiar one, there is an aspect to it which is sometimes overlooked. The parable assumes that there is a little bit of land in which the seed may take root and grow. The piece of land in question may vary in its suitability, but it exists. It might be a path, or a piece of land with many rocks or thistles, or perhaps a plot where the soil is good and the conditions promising. But the point is that there is somewhere for the sower to sow their seed.
But what if there is nowhere to sow the seed? What if there is nowhere in our lives where the seed of a new beginning might take root and grow?
Sometimes it can be hard for God to find a welcome in our lives, or for God’s voice to be heard above the many noises and distractions of our everyday lives. God wants to speak with us, but he can’t get a word in edgeways.
Why might this be? Why might we have squeezed God out of our lives? There might be a variety of reasons. We might be unwell, or physically or mentally exhausted, and have no time for anything other than simply getting through the day. It might be that we have a million and one things to do, and simply don’t have the bandwidth to engage with God.
It might also be that we’re so full of anger or hurt or fear that there’s no room left in our hearts for God. I would suggest that anger, hurt and fear are feelings common to most if not all human beings. The key thing is not to ignore their presence, pretending that they don’t exist. Instead, we need to recognise that they are part of who we are, and offer them up to God, in the hope and trust that God will bring us the healing we need. I am confident that God does indeed bring us the healing we need in our lives, and that He uses many different means to do so. Some of this healing comes to us in the life we enjoy here on this earth, but I think healing in all its fulness comes to us in the life of heaven.
So as we enter this New Year, perhaps we might want to sit down and reflect on our own lives, and ask ourselves the following question: where are we making space for God? Where might God be able to get a word in edgeways? Where might there be space for God to sow the seed of a new beginning, and where might that seed be able to put down some roots and flourish?
I think God understands that many, perhaps most, of us are busy people, and most of our busyness is a good busyness. We are busy because we are using the gifts God has given us. We are busy because we are caring for others, and for the world around us. This is all good. But in the midst of our busyness, there needs to be some time and space left vacant – time and space in which we can sow the seeds of a new beginning.
So let me finish with the words of Jesus as he starts telling the Parable of the Sower: “ Listen! A sower went out to sow…..” (Matthew 13, verse 3).
Let us take a moment to look around our own lives. Where might we sow the seed of a new beginning? Where does the soil look promising?