Bob Cornwall/Faith in the Public Square

This past Monday we entered a new year that is pregnant with new opportunities and possibilities. As we exchange one calendar for another, we get to start things fresh. The past lies behind us, while the future beckons us forward. This fresh start is both liberating and frightening. It's liberating because we're not bound by the past. Whatever happened yesterday has no real bearing on my tomorrow - yes, I know that's a bit simplistic, but I think you get my point. A new year can be frightening because we can't predict or control the future.

Although I'm by nature a cautious person, my faith in God emboldens me to embrace the adventure that a new year brings. And so, I guess anticipation rather than anxiety is my chosen emotion for this transition.

It's common practice to make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. We resolve to eat less, exercise more, spend more time with the family, or maybe learn a new trade. Before January is over, we've likely abandoned most of our resolutions. We abandon them because they require more of us than we're ready and willing to put out. That's human nature, I suppose, and besides, the comfort of past certainties is often more comfortable than the risks of the future's uncertainties.

Still, life must be lived now and in the future, rather than in the past. It's out there in front of us that we'll encounter our hope and our joy. If we approach the future with a sense of anticipation rather than anxiety, we will be able to help shape that future rather than simply being shaped by the future. There's something to the idea that if we expect bad things to happen, our “prophecy” will get fulfilled. Now, if history is any predictor of the future, there'll be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and hurricanes, but that doesn't mean we can't join together in creating a future that's full of hope and purpose. We know that technology continues to improve our lives, but there's more to life than comfort and convenience.

I must confess to experiencing anxiety from time to time - I do read the newspaper after all - but I remain emboldened by my faith to embrace the future. The Scriptures that I read and follow speak of new covenants, new creations, new births, and new beginnings. Each of these phrases offers hope that whatever the past, we're not beholden to it. The old, St. Paul says, has now become new (2 Corin-thians 5:17).

I'm not against things that are old - I happen to be a historian as well as being a pastor - but I choose to embrace the future with hope, even though it's full of change and uncertainty. And as I look forward into the future, my hopes and dreams for the year 2007 include:

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n Peace and stability in Iraq.

n The return home of U.S. soldiers.

n A just resolution of the long festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

n Development of an environmentally responsible energy policy that frees us as a nation from our dependence on foreign oil.

n Quality education for every young person living in our nation.

n The provision of adequate healthcare for all.

n An end to genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

These are just a few of my dreams for 2007. They're big, and the solutions aren't easily attainable, but that's the great thing about a new year. It gives us the opportunity to try one more time.

I have another dream for 2007. I dream that we as Americans will learn civility and respect for others. It'll be difficult, because a presidential election is in the offing. I fear that the next election cycle will be as ugly as the last, but I also hope that things will be different this time.

My hope is that we'll take a different path. This different path doesn't mean that we give up our ideals or our passion for them. What it does mean is that we recognize our common humanity and our responsibility to work for the common good.

If only we'd embrace the future with hope rather than foreboding, good things might happen!

Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (lompocdisciples.org). He may be contacted at lompocdisciples

@impulse.net or First Christian Church, P.O. Box, 1056, Lompoc, CA, 93438.

Jan. 7, 2007