{"id":175,"date":"2010-02-23T07:20:50","date_gmt":"2010-02-23T07:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/roddreher\/2010\/02\/a-brand-new-day.html"},"modified":"2010-02-23T07:20:50","modified_gmt":"2010-02-23T07:20:50","slug":"a-brand-new-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/roddreher\/2010\/02\/a-brand-new-day.html","title":{"rendered":"A brand new day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rod&ruthie.jpg\"<\/span> Today is a new day. Yesterday is done. Tomorrow is not promised to us. On this day, you can be reconciled to your brothers and sisters, your children, your parents, your neighbors, indeed even to your enemies. On this day, you can say the words you know in your heart you need to speak into the ears of those you love, you have loved, and that you might love again. Today is another opportunity to make it right, to turn towards the good, to let go of old hurts and resentments, to allow the hammer of repentance to crack your stony heart.
\nToday is a day when you can forgive, and receive forgiveness. Today is a day to speak love and mercy. Today is a day for humility. Why not? What do you have to lose? I know it hurts — believe me, I’m trying to do this myself, and it’s hard<\/i> — but what else is there? As the Psalmist says:<\/p>\n

Be not afraid when a man becometh rich, nor when the glory of his house is increased.
\nFor when he dieth he shall carry nothing away, nor shall his glory descend after him.
\nFor his soul shall be blessed in his lifetime; he will acknowledge Thee while Thou doest good unto him.
\nHe shall enter into the generation of his fathers; he shall not see light unto eternity.
\nAnd man, being in honour, did not understand; he is compared to the mindless cattle, and is become like them.<\/em> (Psalm 48)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What we have today — our youth, our riches, our power, our pride — is nothing in the light of eternity, and in the face of mortality. It can all be taken from us without warning. For the healthy as well as the sick, each passing day brings us closer to the grave. The Psalmist reminds us that only mindless cattle, which have no concept of tomorrow, live as if the things of this world were all that mattered.
\nToday might be your last chance to make amends, to get right with your God and your neighbor. There is no sacrifice greater than humbling oneself to forgive, and to ask forgiveness. A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise.<\/i> (Psalm 50)
\nThere is no day like today. Make that phone call. Write that letter. Have that talk. Say that prayer. Confess. Apologize. Accept an apology. Disburden yourself. Take the yoke of guilt from another. Remember: in humility, greatness — and release.The poet Auden, in his great meditation on the powerlessness of humanity in the face of mortality<\/a>, tells us that only love, and the embrace of brokenness, can help us endure:<\/p>\n

“O look, look in the mirror,
\nO look in your distress;
\nLife remains a blessing
\nAlthough you cannot bless.”
\n“O stand, stand at the window
\nAs the tears scald and start;
\nYou shall love your crooked neighbor
\nWith your crooked heart.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the day to quit thinking about it. This is the day to do it, to live it, to make it real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is a new day. Yesterday is done. Tomorrow is not promised to us. On this day, you can be reconciled to your brothers and sisters, your children, your parents, your neighbors, indeed even to your enemies. On this day, you can say the words you know in your heart you need to speak into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-varia"],"yoast_head":"\nA brand new day - Rod Dreher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A brand new day - Rod Dreher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is a new day. Yesterday is done. 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