The first time January 1 marked the beginning of a year was in 45 B.C. as the Julian calendar took effect. January was named for the Roman god Janus who represented, in part, new beginnings and the end to old ways. Prior to that, March was the first month of the new year for Romans, named after the Roman god of war. So, it appeared more seemly to begin a year without a reference to war. Janus is represented as a figure with two heads, one face looking forward and the other backwards, Janus was also the god of transitions and doorways, and the god of war and peace. So, it’s fitting (if unseemly) to mention this at the beginning of this essay. Still it’s now 2023: What will the New Year bring?!!
After a year such as 2022, most people look to a new year with hope. But the demons of 2022, who zealously fan the flames of war raging in Europe and eho threaten conflicts elsewhere have their own agenda. As a deadly global pandemic now entering it’s fourth year strikes dead thousands of Americans each week (2,373 in the week ending Christmas Eve), not to mention the continuing economic crises and political and cultural chaos roiling almost every continent, we have a perfect storm swirling around us as we cross the threshold while the ball in Times Square sinks slowly out of sight.
These demons cannot be so easily exorcised. They feed on fear, superstition and sin.
War
For many people, today is as close to nuclear war as we have ever been. Going back fifty years, we saw the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire, the imminent fall of the Berlin Wall, and by 1992 peace seemed to be breaking out all over. Western governments began dreaming of what they called a “peace dividend” where money could be shifted from the arms race to infrastructure reinvestment and social programs. Moscow’s satellite and soviet states became full-fledged countries, many (such as Lithuania) choosing democracy while other countries (such as Ukraine) could not fully escape Russia’s orbit. Democracy is not easy to cultivate and harder to maintain as many Americans learned, themselves, these past few years. If a tyrant can threaten free elections in our country, how then can we hold other countries to a higher standard?
Russia is losing the war at the moment. Their military strategies have failed and they are desparately trying to patch up the holes on the front line using conscripts and convicts. Russia is running short of standard military kit, rockets and drones, but then, so are we (“we” meaning those countries in NATO who actively support Ukraine militarily.) Had President Putin not formally annexed more Ukraine territory (which is how Russia has grown in size over the past five hundred years), a strategic retreat might be in order. No shame on that account. After all, what did the U.S. accomplish after twenty years in Vietnam and another two decades in Afghanistan? But then, there are war crimes, incredible damage to cities, the destroyed power grid, etc. So that bridge has been burned as Russia must account for this mayhem.
Perhaps more likely than a Russian tactical nuke or a “dirty bomb” employed in Ukraine is the prospect of NATO countries being dragged into a conventional war with Russia as one side or another crosses a red line. I truly believe that President Biden does not want war with Russia. I cannot begin to understand what is in the mind of President Putin, nor how far he will go in this campaign. I do know that after this war is finally over, it will be difficult for many European countries to trust Russia again, save a few. It’s hard not to conclude that President Putin miscalculated, and if he attempts a redux of his invasion this coming February as it appears he will, then the dogs of war will be howling that much louder.
When great nations or alliances are pinned down or focused on one part of the world, it is tempting for other belligerents to stir up mischief themselves. In the last two days, North Korea has launched drones into South Korea and China has violated Taiwanese air space dozens of times, In the last two days Iran has threatened to turn Tel Aviv into toast. Friction is brewing between Serbia and Kosovo (again) as well as between China and India on their Himalayan borders and between China and Japan.
COVID
We are only a few weeks from beginning the fourth year of the global COVID pandemic. Aside from understanding the basic architecture of the virus, there is much we have not learned, including its origin (the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab vs. the city’s local wet market.) The SARS CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID is very resilent and sophisticated, capable of parallel evolution. Then, there is the problem of noncompliance with masks and other infection control procedures among individuals in the general population, particularly in the U.S. There is only one reason to wear a mask, but dozens of excuses not to. Add to this the misinformation, disinformation and politics and it’s no surprize that we seen the end of the pandemic yet.
Economic throes
When an economic powerhouse such as China is shutdown because of COVID, there is a backlog of products manufactured in that country, such as fashion accessories, building supplies and travel products for example. The inflation that we’ve seen this past year makes these products even more expensive, and if we’re talking about pricey goods (such as an iPhone), another one hundred dollars may make it too expensive for some consumers. With most economists predicting a recession for this year for a third of the planet’s economies, there will be considerable pain to go around. With the Ukrainian economy and farming industry in ruins, millions of people face starvation if Moscow gets its way (though it is probably unlikely that starvation of fourth world populations is a Russian policy.) People are dipping into their savings accounts to pay for fuel and food and many will have to forego buying a home.
2023: WHAT WILL THE NEW YEAR BRING?!!
In spite of all that I’ve written thus far in this post, this coming New Year “could” be the best year of your life. Put aside thoughts for a moment of Russian atrocities in Ukraine, the spiraling cost of gas, toxic politics, the decline of religion in America, people with or without masks who scamper around you daily and our lewd and lascivious culture. As our collective values and moral underpinnings crack and crumble, what can you say about your life? Your faith? Your future?
We’re facing moral corruption. Like the lost cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, human depravity hit rock bottom. God left us the story of Sodom and Gomorrah not only as a warning, but as a promise as well. The populations of those twin cities were completely corrupt, utterly in emnity to God, His love and His ways. Yet, God delivered one family (the family of a man called Lot) who obeyed and decided to follow the angels out of those two pits and their impending doom. God’s Holy Spirit and His angels are poised today to deliver you and put your feet on the path to salvation. He can deliver you from your hopeless circumstances even as He delivered Lot from his.
The year 2023 could be the year you meet your Heavenly Father and the year you experience what real love is all about.
The false god Janus speaks of a door, but Jesus, the True God, the son of the Most High also speaks of a door–the door to your heart. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says:
“Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
To the church of Philadelphia which existed in the country which today we call Turkey, Jesus also says:
” See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.”
Revelation 3:8
Another door, another opportunity. Lot concluded, perhaps a bit reluctantly, that he had to leave and he and his family stepped through the door before him. His wife, however, coud not sever her ties to the past and did not survice the journey. God’s door was an exit, a fire escape from the apocalypse that followed only minutes later (See portrayal in illustration above.) This door was a portal to a new reality, a new life. Millennia later, God is offering you a new life, an eternal life with Him. All you need to do is accept His forgiveness and love. Step forward in faith.
