Welcome to 2023! Perhaps you have some resolutions now maturing in the light of day two? Inevitably, and despite the celebrations, we start with continuity. Today follows on from yesterday, last week, last month. The situation (whatever situation sits in our foreground) remains less than perfect, and the problems do not disappear unaided.

So it is appropriate that the New Year begins in Christian tradition with the Feast of the Naming of Jesus (or in the older version, the Circumcision of Christ). We celebrate the festival with the calendar New Year, and in much the same way find it a feast with two sides. The circumcision, provided for by Jewish law eight days after the birth of a male child, is a reminder that Jesus is born and raised in the disciplines of Jewish life. (See Genesis 17:10ff, but also 1Cor 7:19, Gal 5:6). Despite who he is, he submits and is obedient to the regulations and traditions, as well as to the less-than-wealthy environment of a Palestinian home. Perhaps there is encouragement here to see our own way forward through, not escaping, the disadvantages and problems of our present situation.

At the same time, this is the moment for the baby to be given the name Jesus – “Saviour”, as the angel had instructed Mary (Luke 1:11). The newborn is the hoped-for King, good news for us and for all. Will this year be a time when we find delight in that? Whether for the first time, or continuing a tradition of many years, this is surely where it starts – with Jesus, a Saviour, for the hopes and good resolutions of all.