https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1&version=NRSV (John 1:1, 14, 16-18) Dear Friends: We ushered in a new year just a few days ago, so let me pause here and wish you a happy new year! You know, each new year I can't help but stop and wonder about what the next year will bring to me and to this world. Maybe you do that as well. For some, in looking ahead, that can be troubling. There can be some anxious and pessimistic concerns. For some people, they can't help but notice there are so many things wrong in this world. For instance in our own United States we’re experiencing rough waters in our government and politics. People are worried about health care costs. Of course the warnings are coming more often now about climate change issues, and that's unsettling as we think about the future for our children. There seems to be a deep polarization in society today over so many issues. And there’s gun violence being on the rise and mass shootings in our schools and nothing but negative news on TV. And we can't help but notice an erosion of morals and values as well as a questioning of absolutes and truth all around us. And civility seems to be lost. Of course there is this thing called change; the world is changing faster and faster it seems. We typically don't like change - it means making uncomfortable adjustments, and that can be hard on us. I don’t know about you but I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up with technology. And then there are the daily insecurities of life as we wonder ahead. ‘Will my health hold up?’ ‘I’m not getting any younger!’ Or finances: “will have enough for the future?” So when someone wishes us a happy new year some of you may be thinking “Happy new year?! Fat chance! I don’t know how that’s ever going to happen for me!” Well, I believe that you will find the John's statements in his gospel, which we read earlier, more than helpful to hold onto as you step into 2020. They contain some very good news for you and me. First of all the statements make a wonderful announcement: God has come in the flesh! “The Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh.” The birth of Jesus. He dwelt among us, meaning literally He pitched his tent, He took up residence with us. He was God's gift of love to the world. God has come, but listen: He's never left. And He never will! In fact, Christ will be making another appearance again in the future to restore God's world once and for all, according to His plans. Everything is under control. Relax! You are in good hands, strong hands that will never let you go. This is not an abandoned planet. I may not know what my future holds, but I know the One who holds my future. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and is dwelled among us full of grace and truth.” Trusting in Him my future is sealed, no matter what the circumstances that come my way. And if you wonder if anyone knows how you feel as you face life, He does. As one of us He experienced all the hurts that life can throw at an individual: pain, and disappointment, and hunger, and thirst, and rejection, and hostility, and frustration, and discouragement, and human limitations. So when you turn to Him in prayer and approach His throne of grace, know this for sure: you do not have an unsympathetic high priest (as the book of Hebrews refers to Jesus) listening to you. He could very well be nodding His head in agreement, as if to say “I know how you feel. I've been there Myself. I know life's hurts.” John goes on to testify “we have seen His glory, as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Christ has made God known to us. We've seen his glory, John says, which means God's manifestation, His person. “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” No one has ever seen God, but the Son has made Him known to us. In other...