But what do we mean when we say ‘Happy New Year?
Is it a command (I order you to be happy this year), a general non-specific expression of hope (that the new year will be kind to you), a prophecy (I predict the new year will be good for you), or just a general polite greeting made appropriate to the season?
Or do you see horrors on the horizon that mean ‘happy’ is just out of scope, and you don’t want to be wishing any-one what couldn’t possibly happen.
But what if “Happy New Year” is an invitation, acknowledging that last year wasn’t perfect, and pointing to the new year as an opportunity to lay down the wrong and the bad, and to embrace
being better, and doing better?
For Christians, the greeting can be more: a parable, because a fresh-start with God is what Jesus offers, and the happiest new year of all will be the one that is lived in the light of the Gospel of Christ, where sins are forgiven and God dwells by his Spirit. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Eph1:13.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Raymond