"And your new password is..."

Please choose a password wisely...

I guess that most if not all of you had to deal with passwords, and the complexity of creating a new one against the need to have some clue or hint that allows it to remember when needed.  And if you forget it, then the inconvenience of starting all over again.  I can understand why some people get sick and tired of dealing with one of the major aggravations of the contemporary digital age.

So, to ease your quest, and as we begin together this New Year of Our Lord 2026, let me offer you the password that you will need to use to unlock everything that God has in store for you in the new year and beyond.

Together with the new year, the pressure to organize family vacations or to think about a new job – or a June wedding? – arrives.  Sometimes, at times you may start asking yourself what lies ahead.  And for sure, some things we know, like April 15th.  Others are unknown to us.

Paraphrasing the late Sec. Donald Rumsfeld, the “known knowns” of life we already know, and we praise God for them – well, not perhaps for April 15th, but you know what I mean.  The “known unknowns” ahead of us may be challenging, but we do know that with the help of God a way ahead can and will be made. 

But what lurks ahead on dark nights, when the months, days and hours keep ticking ruthlessly, and when second guessing ourselves seem to be the sport of the day, then the so called “unknown unknowns” arrive to grip your soul and spirit.  When that happens, do not despair, for the promise of God with you and in you is real and still stands.

But to unlock the fullness of God’s grace, mercy, and peace you will need a password – a two-words password, in fact.  Simple, no uppercase nor lowercase, no symbols or numbers.  Just two words.  And the beauty of such password is that you can use both words in whichever order may please you. 

So, here is the first word, “Know.”

As I hinted in my brief words after the Service of Carols and Lessons, please know that God recognizes worth beyond measure in you.  Know that God truly loves you.

John 3:16 has no exceptions.  No fine print and no exclusions.  I know, that for some the word “love” is just a way to end a message.  For others, in their experience they may have found that when people told someone that they loved them, and that they had their backs, then they use their position to stab them on their backs.

For others love is something one makes casually, no strings attached, and without emotional attachment or commitment.  For them and for others, speaking of God’s love is at worst irrelevant and at best childish.

But here is the thing.  No matter what one may think about love, God thinks about love His own way.  Love is something God created.  It is freely given, without conditions or expectations. It’s a love that asks nothing in return, a love that simply is, offering comfort and acceptance even when everything else feels uncertain.  

This kind of love reflects God’s own love for us, unearned and unwavering, reminding us that our worth isn’t determined by what we do or fail to do, but by who we are in God’s eyes.  It is a love which will persist even through heartbreaks, disappointments, and the unknowns of life.

So, as St Paul tells us in the second lesson, know that God has blessed you in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.  He destined you for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on you in the Beloved. 

So my friend, “Know” that you are not an inconvenience to God, but rather you are the apple of God’s eye.

The second part of the password is “Listen.”  As in “listen” to what God may have to say.

When you consider Mary’s story you will find a story of unexpected twists and turns, interruptions, delays, and unanswered questions. 

Often Mary had to face things that she could have never dream or even imagine.  To paraphrase again Sec. Donald Rumsfeld, all through her life Mary had to face “unknown unknows”.

As a young teen, Mary would have no say about whom she was going to be given in marriage, even if it was something she may have expected. 

But from then on, from the visit of the Angel to dealing with her “Doubting Joseph” to facing her parents and the friends from whom she could not hide her pregnancy, to the ninth hour trip to Bethlehem, birthing her first son in a cold winter night, and then the rush to Egypt, and eventually their return to Bethlehem, I can’t think she could even expect the pile up on her life.

And when at last they were on the way back from Egypt, then, “OH!  Wait!  No!  Rather than going back to Bethlehem, now you need to go to Nazareth!”.  And so, unexpectedly, a long journey was stretched out even longer into a back-breaking journey.

No matter what you may have had to deal in your life, I am not sure that you would be willing to trade your journey with Mary’s.

So, a good question to ask is, “How could Mary was able to deal with all the stuff thrown upon her?”

Let me suggest that it was her willingness to listen.  Not only her willingness but especially her openness to listen.

For I guess that most of us are willing to hear to what God may have to say about anything in our lives.  But when push comes to shove, are we open to listen to God?

For it is one thing to hear what God may have to say, but true listening goes beyond simply registering sound.  It means opening hearts, letting go of our assumptions, and allowing God’s message to truly take root within us.

Mary didn’t just hear the angel’s words.  In fact, she embraced them, even when they were challenging or confusing.  Her openness to listen was an act of trust and surrender, a willingness to walk forward even when the path was unclear.

Perhaps, as we look to her example, we are invited to cultivate that same openness.  In moments of uncertainty, when life suddenly shifts or unknown unknows appear out of nowhere, we can choose to listen.

Listening to God might mean quieting our fears, setting aside our agendas, and letting love guide our responses.  It’s an ongoing practice, a daily invitation to trust that God’s voice will lead us toward hope and the peace needed to keep on keeping on.

So, here is your password to unlock all that God has for you in the new year and beyond – “Know Listen”.

Let us pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, you taught us that knowing You is eternal life, and that in listening to you we can hear God’s voice.  By the grace of your Spirit, please open our minds, hearts, and souls and attune us to listen to your loving voice, so that in all the challenges, turns, and twists of ordinary life we may know you better, follow you more closely, and enjoy more deeply the wonders of your love and peace.  Amen.

Fr. Gustavo