The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of doorways. Janus is pictured as having two faces, facing both backwards and frontwards. January 1 was, therefore considered the appropriate day to start the new year, endings and beginnings. Earlier calendars in Rome used March, the coming of new life in Spring to begin the new year. The Christian church kept the Roman custom even though liturgically the new year begins the first Sunday of Advent. The readings for this day reflect the two sided nature of the coming of a new year. The epistle of St. John talks about endings: We know this is the last hour. The Gospel of St. John talks about beginnings: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. However, we live, as one scripture scholar put it, in the middle of time. We remember and celebrate our beginnings — of the world, of the Church, of our lives. We anticipate the end — not knowing the day nor the hour but knowing the death is the inevitable future. The consolation we have in the middle of time is that Jesus shares time with us. “He pitched his tent among us,” according to St. John. Because of our faith in Jesus our past is healed and our future is secure.
