As you make New Year’s resolutions, look at where you are not yet conformed to the heart and life of Jesus
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
There are some interesting “coincidences” in this week’s readings.
For example:
1) On the last day of the year, the first reading happens to tells us: “Children, it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).
2) The last prayer of the old Latin Mass was a reading of the prologue of John’s Gospel (1:1-18), and the last reading of the old year happens to be the prologue of John’s Gospel.
3) The first reading of the New Year is Aaron’s priestly blessing of the people of Israel (Numbers 6:22-27), which is followed by the Psalm refrain “May God bless us in His mercy” (Psalm 67).
As delightful as these coincidences are, I want to focus on something else.
St. Thomas Aquinas had an interesting idea: As the persons of the Trinity come to dwell more deeply in us by grace, our souls are made more like those persons.
That may seem like an “ivory tower” theological theory. But it’s actually nothing more than a commentary on the Scripture readings this week.
In 1 John, we hear: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” There it is: We shall be like Him.
In 1 John, we also hear: “If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by Him.” There it is again: We act like Him, because we were begotten by Him so that we might be like Him.
We also hear this in Galatians: “God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father.’” There it is again: When the Spirit dwells in us, we are made like the Son, and we call upon the Father, just as Jesus did.
We also hear from John’s Gospel that “to those who accepted Him [the Son] He gave power to become the children of God.” There it is again: Jesus is Son of the Father by nature, and we become sons and daughters of the Father by grace.
The point is stated succinctly by St. Hippolytus. He says: “[W]hen we have been deified and made immortal, God has promised us a share in His own attributes.”
As usual — and contrary to some caricatures — St. Thomas is not speculating about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. No, he’s synthesizing a central element of our spiritual tradition.
And I think this theological point can become very practical: It can become the basis of our New Year’s resolutions! What’s some place of your heart or life that is not yet conformed to the heart and life of Jesus? Whatever that is, make it your resolution to let Jesus into your heart and soul and life — and He will make them more like His own.
Better yet, instead of making a resolution, ask Him! Ask Him where He’d like to enter your life more deeply, and make it more like His own. I’m confident He’ll have an answer! And then, if you let Him in, your life this coming year can be a living proof of what St. Thomas says: As Jesus enters your life, your life will become more like His. How about that for a New Year’s resolution?
