Dear parishioners,

The beginning of a new year is a sort of threshold situation. Among the wishes that people exchange at such times, two words are always mentioned: "happiness" or "strength". Where does this strength come from? One often doesn't know. Is it the wish itself which gives me strength? Or is it the wish that should mobilize my strengths? Or does the thought of the person who wished me strength make me strong? As Theodor Storm expressed it in a verse to his wife:
If things go awry in the world, / wherever you are, I am at home.
If I see your lovely face / I do not see the shadow of the future.

In any case, wishes such as "lots of happiness" or "lots of strength" are signs of empathy. Empathy has something strengthening. If someone embraces me to express his empathy then something like a transmission of strength occurs.

Words, wishes, gestures that accompany the passage into the new year all share one thing: they bring strength of life and courage to live.

The sermon text for today's New Year's Day deals with strength, the strength to live. It is illustrated in the powerful, bold confession of Paul. He says: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength". But the apostle does not leave it there. He then immediately adds where this strength comes from. There's a name for it, a person: Christ, the carrier, the bearer, of God's strength.

Thus Paul speaks. He also tells us about the impact of the strength he receives from God on his life. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want". Through these sentences the boldness of his faith becomes clear.

One could conclude that a Christian is a sort of virtuoso, a master, of diverse situations in life. He can do all this because he stands over them. He faces them with an enormous freedom. The freedom of choice and will in every situation. Luther's famous words according to which the Christian is the lord of all while the servant of all also relates to this. Something from the wonderful freedom of the children of God lives in the apostle whose revelation is awaited by the whole creation.

Someone might perhaps stand up and object: "Yes indeed, I hear with admiration how Paul can say so boldly: 'I can do everything because Christ gives me the strength in every life circumstances'. This person might then add: "Dear Paul, things are unfortunately different for me. Christ has disappointed me on many occasions, he has let me down. I have called upon him and have prayed but he hasn't given me the strength".

What would Paul say to that? I think it would say something like that: "The strength that Christ gives me doesn't come automatically. He has often and for a long time let me feel my weakness more than his strength". And Paul would probably continue: "I didn't write my confession to shed shame on others nor to make them feel bad. Above all, I write about my joy. This joy doesn't belong to me nor even to Jesus Christ but to the community of Philippi. My joy arises from the gratitude for proven solidarity. The people of Philippi had let me bring some gifts by Epaphroditus in prison. They wanted to show me that they cared about me. This gesture should give me strength while in prison. Now I write them so that they are not worried. Although their gesture is very important for me, the Christians in Philippi must know that I in the meantime know how to live in the most different situations in life. I owe this to God who became our servant, the king who serves us all. I owe it to the freedom of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul would probably answer.

As such, the fact to have plenty or to be in need, to be hungry or well fed, to live in abundance or in want are not sources of liberation, but threats to life. Not only hunger is deadly, abundance can be it just as much. Frequently, the strength that comes from Christ remains inaccessible where pride, abundance, and the plenty prevail. This unholy alliance opposes Christ as an iron wall. For this reason, the world is relieved where there are people who know how to deal with any and every situation. They are responsible for a solidary world.

This is precisely what characterizes Christians: they know how to deal with any and every situation. This is also, by the way, the reason why Christians are so sensitive to social issues. They know how to deal with any and every situation. They cry with those who cry, they share the happiness of others, they wish justice with those in need.

To know how to deal with any and every situation is not something that comes automatically. For this reason, Paul also says: "I've learnt". Christians are eternal learners. Many teachers, prophets, apostles, contemporary brothers and sisters work in their school. Above all, life is a great school master. We know that Paul was arrested several times and thrown in prison without court hearings, he was also plundered. We know that he foundered shipwreck, almost starved and died of thirst. For this reason, he says in his confession: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances". The Shelter-Now workers in Afghanistan have made similar statements--before, while, and after their imprisonment.

But two things are important for Paul's life: the parish that he founded and wanted to found. The apostle had a clear origin and a clear goal. Those were the source of his strength. But it's also true that: "One needs more than goals to be able to live: one need a face" (E. Canetti). A face? Paul knew many faces but they were for him the reflection of one face, that of Jesus Christ whom gave him strength for all. Christ is the strength behind all communities. For him, Paul could have sung the poem that Theodor Storm one wrote for his wife:

If things go awry in the world, / wherever you are, I am at home.
If I see your lovely face / I do not see the shadow of the future.

Let's repeat what Paul said so to enter the new year as confident "virtuosi" in all circumstances of life. We can thus testify the freedom of the children of God. We'll make sure that the hungry won't stay without bread and that those who live in abundance do not loose contact with those who live in need. Christians know how to deal with any and every situation. And a lot of people benefit from it.

Amen!

Dr. Wilhelm Hüffmeier, Berlin
Präsident der Kirchenkanzlei der Evangelischen Kirche der Union
Leiter des Sekretariats der Leuenberger Kirchengemeinschaft
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Translated by
Barbara Thériault
Centre canadien d'études allemandes et européennes
Université de Montréal
Pavillon 3744, rue Jean-Brillant, bureau 525
Montréal, Québec
Canada H3T 1P1
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