Celebrating the New Year

I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. But that changed today, the first day of the new year.

The first thing I did when I sat down at my computer this morning was to update the copyright date on my web site. Somehow the date of January 1, 2010 stayed in my mind, even while I was reading this morning’s newspaper and, at the same time, catching television news.

All the while, there was a nagging thought that something was odd about adding “January 1, 2010” to my web site. Then, for some unexplainable reason, it occurred to me that the odd thing about “January 1, 2010” was that something was missing. And that something was “AD.” So I added it to my web site: “January 1, AD 2010.”

AD, of course, is the abbreviation for the Latin Anno Domini, which in English is traditionally rendered “In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is the basis of our modern Gregorian calendar, which began dating from the ostensible year in which Jesus of Nazareth was born (His year of birth is today more accurately calculated to have been some four to seven years later than Pope Gregory XIII figured).

There have been many In-the-year-of’s down through history. For example, in the Bible’s book of Daniel we find these references: “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon” (7:1); “In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar” (8:1); “In the first year of Darius” king of Chaldea (Babylon) (9:1); “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia” (10:1); “In the first year of Darius the Mede” (11:1).

From those few examples (and they are common in the annals of secular history, as well), we see that the dating of historical events was often accomplished by correlating the occurrence to the sequential year within the reign of the then ruler.

To Christians, AD 2010, not only reflects the approximate date of the birth of Jesus, but it recognizes that Jesus Christ reigns over all things, and that includes mankind and governments. Indeed, He reigns over time itself and all things that exist and take place within it. He is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” He is supreme; there is no equal! Yes, the year 2010 is rightly the year of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, there are many people who do not share this Christian perspective.

The State of Israel and many Jews follow the Jewish Calendar (ha’luach ha’ivri). However, they also observe the Gregarian calendar because it is the international standard used by other governments, airlines, banks and so on. However, like many other non-Christians, they may substitute BC (“Before Christ”) with BCE (“Before the Common Era”), and substitute AD (“Anno Domini”) with CE (“Common Era”). Or, more often than not, they simply omit any designation, that is, “2010.”

For example, check out the date of today’s English edition of the Jerusalem Post and you’ll find the date is that of the Gregorian calendar.

Islam also has its own calendar—the Hijri Calendar. Even so, Muslims involved in international commerce resort to the Gregorian calendar. Check out the English edition of the Iranian daily newspaper, the Tehran Times.

Now, according to the Chinese zodiac, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, and there are, I would guess, other cultures who consider this year to be the year of this or the year of that.

I can understand why non-Christians might want to drop “AD” from the date, but have we Christians become so assimilated into the secular mind-set—so politically correct—or simply absent-minded that we also drop the “AD”? Have we forgotten that this is the year of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Though we Christians might rightly question if it has been exactly 2,010 years since Jesus was born, we should not disregard the truthful message of the Gregorian calendar that honors each and every year as a year in which Jesus Christ reigns as “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

That is something to celebrate every day!

So, as for me, my New Year’s resolution is simply this: To add “AD” to the date every time I write it, as a proclamation, to be sure, but also to remind myself and others that “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).