‘Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16
In the Christian Church, we begin our liturgical year at the start of Advent. You probably know that and may have taken it for granted for as long as you can remember. However, if we were in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the beginning of September would mark the beginning of our liturgical year. Methodists are also used to their Connexional year beginning at the start of September. This is when ministers who are moving between appointments get to know their new congregations, circuit plans start again, committee cycles recommence, and the financial year begins. As we begin any new chapter in life, we have to reflect on what directional decisions we may need to make in the coming days and weeks.
I wonder how many times I have been out in the countryside and stopped to look at the map to decide which path to take, only to make the wrong judgement sometimes. Often, when that has happened, it has later become clear—looking back or looking at the path in the distance—that the decision should have been easy.
The text with which I began comes from a part of the Book of the Jeremiah in which the prophet predicts the siege and fall of Jerusalem. God has set out the best path for people to take, but the message of this particularly tragic chapter in their history is that they decisively make the wrong decision.
If September marks any sort of new beginning for you, reflect on that and ask yourself whether you instinctively make right decisions or wrong ones. As that reflection develops, you might like to consider how reliably you include God in the decision-making processes of life. Beginning again is always exciting, and it can be risky, but it is something that must be undertaken.