• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrine’s perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content and
• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrine’s perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content and length. Thoughts or suggestions for future topics are always welcome. Next week’s topic is music. The topic at the end of the column is for the following week.
The Baha’is of Kaua‘i
New Year is the beginning of a new calendar year. New Year, however, is celebrated around the world at different times according to the calendar adopted by the religion or culture of the land. In the western culture we have adopted the Gregorian calendar which celebrates New Year on Jan. 1.
The Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year is determined by the first new moon of the lunar year, about four to eight weeks before spring.
Many other cultures celebrate New Year around spring or the vernal equinox. Spring marks the beginning of new life or a new beginning.
The Baha’i New Year celebration of Naw-Ruz occurs on March 21, the first day of spring.
Regardless of when or how New Year is celebrated, it ushers in hope for a better year; for prosperity, health, and contentment. Misfortunes and difficulties of the past are swept away into history and opportunities emerge to begin anew. Armed with God’s love no harm can beset us and no test is greater than we can endure. We enter the new year revitalized and confident that the best is yet to come.
The Baha’is of Kaua’i offer this revealed prayer to wish all of you happiness, good health and a fruitful New Year.
“O GOD our Lord! Protect us through Thy grace from whatsoever may be repugnant unto Thee and vouchsafe unto us that which well beseemeth Thee. Give us more out of Thy bounty and bless us. Pardon us for the things we have done and wash away our sins and forgive us with Thy gracious forgiveness. Verily Thou art the Most Exalted, the Self-Subsisting.”
“Thy loving providence hath encompassed all created things in the heavens and on the earth, and Thy forgiveness hath surpassed the whole creation. Thine is sovereignty; … O God our Lord! Protect us through the potency of Thy might, enable us to enter Thy wondrous surging ocean, and grant us that which well befitteth Thee. Thou art the Sovereign Ruler, the Mighty Doer, the Exalted, the All-loving.”
Lama Tashi Dundrup
Kaua‘i Dharma Center
The New Year is in our future. Spiritually to prepare for the coming year and future lives we make resolutions and aspiration prayers and vows. These prayers, along with the desire to become enlightened, and long life prayers for our teachers are combined with daily meditation practices. The result of this is good health, and an easy flow through the death and dying process of the body and on into the next life as a bodhisattva. We celebrate this new year day by the Tibetan calendar, which begins on March 5, 2011 We do spiritual practices to purify all of the negativity of the old year, and do shamanistic practice rituals to create positive results in the new year that benefit all living beings and nature.
Pastor Wayne Patton
Anahola Baptist Church
We stand on the threshold of a new year. Most people generally look at the new year as a fresh beginning, as an opportunity to kind of start over, to overcome a habit or do a better job of something they see as important and that needs improvement. It may be parenting, being a better spouse or losing weight. It may be developing different priorities, using our time better or a whole host of things that people would like to change.
Luke 2:13-20 provides us with a tremendous precedent for the new year and the kind of issues we might consider. In these verses we see a number of things, which bring praise to the person of Jesus Christ. They also provide us with both an example and a challenge. We see both heaven and earth responding to the news of the birth of Jesus Christ in such a way that it exhorts and challenges us in our lives — in our attitudes, priorities, values, pursuits and actions as it pertains to worship. It also challenges us as to our behavior toward spiritual things and even our reason for living.
The response by the shepherds as seen in this passage was the result of the proclamation of truth. As the shepherds went back to their sheep, to their occupations and undoubtedly also to their families, they went back changed men. They would be better at their work. They world be better husbands, fathers and sons because they would be working out of fellowship with their Savior in a new way and with new vision and purpose for life. There would be a new song in their hearts and praise on their lips and a whole new character to the way they lived. There would also be a burden on their hearts and a message on their lips for they wanted others to learn of and know this Savior of theirs.
As we face this new year, how are we going to respond to the message the shepherds heard? We need to allow that message to make a difference in our lives. Let’s do some careful examining as we face a new year.
Kahu James Fung
Lihu‘e Christian Church
When the new calendar year begins each January, it’s customary for some people to focus on what’s called “New Year’s Resolutions.” The problem is that these so-called “resolutions” don’t seem to last very long. And after a while, it’s self-defeating to call them “resolutions” because we tell ourselves that our resolve is not very disciplined and lacks, well, resolve.
I’ve always felt that new beginnings made more sense when we’re spiritually and emotionally ready to embark upon a new chapter of our life. New beginnings, if they really have the power to renew our life, need to be carefully planned with goals and strategies in mind. But just to say things like “I’m going to be a better person” or “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to focus more on my spirituality” is not as helpful as to say, for example, “With God’s help, I’m going to begin an exercise program on Jan. 2. I will begin by walking a mile twice a week. I will keep a log and increase my mileage as the weeks go by. I share my plans with a friend in order to build in some accountability”.
We prepare, we make plans, we have contingencies for the things in life that are important to us. And of course, there’s always the more primary question for all of us: What’s really important? What do I want to achieve this year? What’s the dream that’s waiting to be fulfilled? What’s my passion? What is it that I want to check off on my bucket list.
The Bible speaks of newness, starting fresh, dying to our old nature, walking by faith and not merely by sight and trusting God to lead us into the newness and the mystery of tomorrow. The New Year is as good time as any to do this!
Topic for two weeks from today
• Will you speak to us on conflict?
• Spiritual leaders are invited to e-mail responses of three to five paragraphs to afrainier@thegardenisland.com.
• Deadline each week is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
