Happy New Year! What are your resolutions for this new liturgical year? Caught by surprise? Jesus has some good ones for us--applicable in Advent and our whole lives long.

Jesus is a King unlike any other, of a kingdom unlike any other.

Wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, famines, pseudo-saviors...What is God trying to tell us? "Do not be alarmed; the end is yet to come." In times of uncertainty we live by faith in our Savior Jesus who is victorious over the grave and who has and will end all suffering.

Jesus wept at the tomb of His beloved friend, and He weeps over the cause of death and all sorrow--sin. At the cross, Jesus dealt with sin and death once for all. Risen from the dead, He never will die again. Our hope is that we who have been joined to Christ in a death like His will be raised to live with Him forever. Until that day, we weep with those who weep and encourage one another with the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus. 

Jesus is Truth--in the flesh. As His disciples we build our lives on His Word, which holds us fast in the storms of life.

When Jesus comes to town, everything changes. He stops and asks you, "What do you want me to do for you?" As we follow Him, we can ask our neighbors what they would have Jesus do for them and then pray with them for our Lord's mercy. 

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve--and He calls His disciples to do the same.

How hard is it to enter the kingdom of God? Harder, perhaps, than you think. And yet--with God all things are possible!

God exchanges our song of longing, "Those were the days," for a new song of victory in Jesus: "This is the day!" 

Who's the greatest? Who is deserving of our attention? Jesus upends our way of thinking, setting a small child in the midst of men arguing about such questions. He models in His living and His dying what it means to be great--to be servant of all. Risen from the dead, He serves us still, feeding us with His body and blood and sending us into service in His name.