Pastor Sean DeLawder
Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church
(1/1) If you are like me, you are wondering, where did the year go? I was just getting used to writing 2023 and now I have to write 2024. Each year seems to go by faster and faster and I look back on my year and wonder to myself, did anything change from 2022 to 2023? Did I do the same things that I did the year before? Did I stick to my resolutions that seemed so doable and inspiring on January 1st but quickly faded away by January 31st. Will I do anything differently in this New Year?
I am a creature of habit. I am one of those people that nefarious people love because I am so predictable. I get up at the same time each day, I go to bed at roughly the same time each night, I take the same routes to church and stores. Even my phone’s GPS knows where I am going because when I plug it into my car it gives me a suggested destination to where I went on that same day and time before.
Now do not misunderstand me, I am obviously a believer in routines. There are routines that give our daily lives structure and are good for us. For example brushing our teeth each morning and before bed, bathing, exercising, eating our fruits and vegetables each day, and yes attending church services and being involved with church activities. In fact I recently heard on an NPR radio program which aired on December 22 called "The TED Radio Hour", the host was interviewing Dan Buettner, who for the past twenty-five years has been studying groups of people who have lived into their ninety’s and beyond. He says that people who attend church (or are engaged in religious activities) generally live fourteen years longer than people who do not.
Buettner said that you cannot measure spirituality but that you can measure religiosity, which is how often you show up to your faith based organization. In a transcript from that show, Buettner says, "And we know from meta-analyses that people who show up four times a month are living four to 14 years longer than people who don't show up.
But we don't know if that's because belonging to a faith-based community, you're less likely to engage in risky behaviors or if it's because you have a day every week where you're de-stressing and thinking about a higher power or if it's because you have a nice social network that you, you know, close and play." Buettner goes on to say, "And I argue that one of the best public health interventions we have available to us in most cities is getting young people involved with religious organizations. And I say that not as a religious person myself. I say it - look at the data."
That seems to me a very compelling argument supporting becoming involved in church whether it is for worship, for outreach, for social activities or for a combination of them all.
But routines can also stifle our growth. We can get so accustom to our routine that we neglect, or resist, trying something new. And doing new things is what helps us grow, learn, expand our experiences, and it is what helps to keep us young. Doing new things is where we can engage with new people and maybe learn something from them. Keeping social and making friends also helps to keep us young.
So maybe we get into a routine of going to church each Sunday morning – and then we go home and go about the rest of the week, as if we got our obligation done and now we can do what we want. But I do not think that is what Buettner was saying and I certainly do not think that is what God wants from us.
Church as part of a routine is good, church that becomes a routine is not very good. Ask yourself, when I attend a church service or activity, am I engaged? Am I learning? Am I involved? Am I keeping my social relationships fresh and am I making new friends and building new relationships? And most importantly, am I strengthening my relationship with God? God wants us to keep learning and as we continue to grow and learn we are transformed. In Psalm 32:8 it says, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go".
So what will this New Year bring? Will it be a year of learning and transformation or will you make the same old resolutions that will begin on January 1st and fizzle out during the rest of the month until you are right back to where you were last year. The choice is up to you. 2024 can be the beginning of the new you. It can be the beginning of adding fourteen years to your life just by simply becoming involved in a faith community. It can become a year of transformation. A year of learning. A year of making new connections and even reigniting old ones. It can be a year that you want to repeat year after year because every day is a new day and every routine becomes a new and exciting adventure.
I used to be lackadaisical about celebrating the New Year. But this year for me is going to be different – I am going to embrace it. I am going to make it a transformative year. I hope you are inspired to make it a transformative year as well. And who knows, just maybe, one person at a time, we will all be inspired to bring God’s love and peace and transformation to this world.
I hope you will join us this year at Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church – you are welcome always! We are located at 101 South Main Street, Woodsboro. Our Sunday morning worship begins at 10am. Join us each month for our free community dinners and other activities. For information about our church or any of our events you may call 301-845-4533 or visit our website at www.woodsborolutheranchurch.com. Our Sunday services are posted each Sunday afternoon on our YouTube channel as well. God’s peace and blessings be with you all today and throughout the year.
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