Celebrating a new year is possibly the closest thing we have to a worldwide holiday.  Nearly every country and culture have some sort of celebration of the new year.  Though the dates of the celebration vary in cultures with different calendars from ours, much of the world now shares in celebrating the new year on January 1. 

The Romans began observing January as the first month of the year as early as 46 B.C., and the new year's celebration was big in Rome.  January is named for the minor Roman deity Janus, who is depicted as having two faces, one to gaze into the past and one to look to the future.  Janus was the god of doorways and thresholds and came to symbolize new beginnings, when one is on the threshold of something new.  It became common during January not just to celebrate the beginning of a new year, but to contemplate the year past and to make plans for the coming year. 

Making resolutions at the new year is also an ancient tradition spanning across nearly every culture.  The ancient Babylonians recorded as early as 153 B.C. that it was a tradition during the Babylonian new year to pay debts and return borrowed goods to the neighbors.

The majority of Americans do make some kind of new year's resolution, the most common being to lose weight (or to put it more positively, to eat healthily and exercise more).  I understand the feeling that making a resolution only to break it--again--is a depressing exercise.  But I don't think it's a bad idea to spend some time thinking about what we would like the coming year to be like, and about possible changes we'd like to make.  It also seems healthy to look back at the past year and to reflect a bit on 2012.  As a parish, we will be doing just that this month at our annual meeting.  As a community, we will look back at the past year and celebrate it, and we will elect new leaders and look ahead to 2013 and to what we hope to do in terms of mission and ministry.   

Transformation is possible.  Human beings and communities can grow and change.  During this time of year, in which we reflect on the past and look to the future, I would urge us to spend some prayerful and thoughtful time thinking about our hopes and dreams for ourselves as individuals and as a parish.  Imagine what kinds of growth and change could happen in our lives and in our community if, for example, we were to resolve to be intentional about deepening our relationship with God, to make time (even a few minutes) to pray or meditate.  Or if we were to resolve to deepen our commitment to our church and to serving others.  A new beginning is always possible.  As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!"

According to the gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph carefully observed Jewish law and made sure that on the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised and formally named Jesus, "the name given by the angel before he was conceived."  Christians have long observed a feast day commemorating the day Jesus was circumcised and named, although prior to the 1979 Prayer Book, the day was referred to not as "Feast of the Holy Name," but as "Feast of the Circumcision."  Anglican Prayer Books have also changed the name of the feast day.  Because Luke is clear that Jesus' parents observed the naming ceremony as the law required, eight days after the birth, most of the Christian denominations that observe this day place it on January 1.

The commemoration of Jesus' circumcision began in Gaul as early as 576; it was originally a fast day, designed by the Council of Tours to counteract pagan new year's festivities.  The circumcision and naming ceremony was part of the Law of Moses, described in Leviticus.  Maybe from the earliest times, this was a festive occasion, when family and friends were invited to welcome the new baby and to witness the naming.  Anyone who has Jewish friends or who has attended a Bris Milah, knows that this is a very happy occasion.  Christians have more recently designated the commemoration of Jesus' circumcision and naming to be a feast day and a celebration, more in keeping with the Jewish tradition.

This feast day is a reminder that Jesus' parents were observant Jews, and that they were deeply committed to their faith.  It is also a reminder that Jesus was a very human baby, with family and friends, and he was deeply connected to Judaism and tied to his tradition.  The focus on the naming of Jesus is important in that it points out Mary and Joseph's obedience, and their willingness to obey God even in choosing a name for their boy.  The name Jesus means "Savior" or "Deliverer" in Hebrew.  We all long to be saved and freed; this day is a celebration of the salvation and deliverance that are ours through Jesus Christ.