Homily One for New Years Eve
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Behold, beloved brothers and sisters, we are celebrating the New Year, 1880 from the Nativity of Christ. This is news to various other news. And we all love news so much, each according to his character, inclinations, habits, or so-called specialty, according to the nature of his occupation, his service. Some people like new books, newspaper news, magazine news, or news at work, others new clothes, children love new toys, dresses, gifts – but can you read all the news that occupy each of us in life? Very strange, surprising in each of us is the passion for the new.
"Well, what's new with you?" - they usually ask when meeting with acquaintances or comrades in service. It is clear that we all have something old, which is very, very boring for all of us, which oppresses and crushes all of us, the descendants of Adam, and excites a strong thirst for something new. What is this old thing that has become so boring for us all? This old thing, this decrepit thing, is ourselves, my brethren, our vanity, our sins and passions, this old absurdity, this old nastiness, this old delusion, deeply implanted in us by the ancient murderer, the ancient scoundrel and deceiver – the devil or Satan. This is what is old and decrepit in us, what bores us terribly, with all its charm, this is what plunges us into moral decrepitude, weakness, apathy, and what strongly excites in us such a strong thirst for the new. Only we pay attention not to the news that we should, and we do not seek the news that we should: we, being vain ourselves, and we chase after vain, empty, insignificant news, which either disappear with their appearance, or soon bore us, ceasing to be news.
What is this real news that we must seek, desire, which we must truly love, to which we must attach ourselves with all our hearts, with all our being? – This news is the grace of God, brought to earth by the incarnate Son of God, the grace of renewal, reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sins, rebirth, sanctification, deification. Here is our true, life-giving, eternal news – the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the renewal of our souls by God's grace. We must be reborn, renewed, deified, cast away from ourselves with disgust every charming absurdity and sinful decrepitude, and live in the news of Christian life, holy, blameless. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," says the Holy Apostle. "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5), says the Lord, i.e. I make everyone new people.
"What then shall we say," asks the Apostle? "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.... Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin" (Rom. 6:1–6).
Therefore, from the New Year, let us certainly work, with God’s help, on renewing ourselves – let us become a new creature, putting off the oldness of sin. From the New Year, farther from us may every sin be! Farther from base self-love, carnal indulgence, lust! Next comes anger, fury, hatred, irritability, swearing, blasphemy, lies! Next comes drunkenness, gluttony! Next comes covetousness, stinginess, cruelty! Next comes laziness and negligence about the salvation of our souls! Next comes laziness and inattention to prayer, laziness and inertia in good deeds! Let us take good care of our souls, our eternal salvation, our eternal destiny, and our renewal from the New Year. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
