Reflection: Righteous and Devout (January 1, 2012)

 

The new year invites us to set goals for ourselves. The goals that we choose this time of year focus on self-improvement, with weight loss, better exercise habits, quitting smoking, and paying off debts among the most popular resolutions. According to research done by Stephen Shapiro, the author of Goal-Free Living, 45% of American adults usually make new year's resolutions. Of those, only 8% are always successful in achieving their goals, 19% are successful every other year, and 49% are "infrequently" successful. Sadly, but not surprisingly, 24% are unsuccessful every year. The bottom line is that 3 out of 4 of us consistently fail to keep our resolutions.

Despite our lack of success with goal setting, we are still a goal-oriented society. While very few people actually set spiritual goals for themselves, the underlying drive toward self-improvement has certainly become part of our spiritual lives. Books, seminars, and conferences on how to become better in one aspect of Christian living or another flood the church culture in America. Yet, much like our new year's resolutions, the spiritual resolutions we craft are rarely achieved. It's not unlikely that our "success" rate in spiritual matters is no better than that of our other resolutions.

Isn't it time for us to take a different approach to tending to our spiritual lives? Rather than seeing ourselves as the initiators of improvement plans and goals, we should look to Christ and what He has to say about our spiritual lives. When we do we find that we are just as Simeon is described in today's Gospel lesson: Righteous and devout. As far as our righteousness goes, we can do nothing to achieve it or improve upon it. The One who was "born of a woman, born under Law" has done everything that is necessary for us to be fully and completely righteous. However, there is room for improvement in our spiritual lives in how we live in response to what Christ has done for us — in being "devout." Becoming more devout would be a great resolution for the new year, if we could do what it takes to improve upon our devotion to Christ. But if we try to do this ourselves 4 out of 4 of us will fail. Becoming more devout — more faithful in walking with Jesus — takes something greater than us and our resolve. That something has come to us in human flesh, "born of a woman" to make you both righteous and devout.

Audio of sermon based on this reflection