“September is the other January.” — Gretchen Rubi

Surely the school year is the real calendar by which we live our lives. Never mind that we are now adult, or perhaps we have no children or grandchildren, the rhythm of our year begins in September. The summer holidays are over, not only do the children return to school and students to college, but activities and courses begin again in September, sports fixtures are arranged, work patterns get back to normal as people return from their summer holidays, old routines are re-established.

September is a new start. I found this quote from the American author and environmentalist, Wallace Stegner.

“That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air … Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year’s mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.” Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

‘there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning…’
The origins of the concept of jubilee lie in the Hebrew Scriptures, what Christians refer to as the Old Testament. The year of Jubilee was the fiftieth year after a cycle of seven times seven years and it was intended as a year of reset, resetting the world to a new beginning. Key practices included: returning land (sold because of hardship) to its original owners; releasing slaves and bonded labourers; forgiving debts and releasing people from financial obligations; and above all resting the land for a year.

In other words, giving the world and life a fresh start. How wonderful, because with a new beginning, comes hope and opportunity. Failures and disappointments lie in the past – there is a new way forward. Indeed, this is the gospel message too. With Jesus there is always forgiveness, there is always a second chance.

So, September is a time for renewal. New schools, new teachers, new friendships, new horizons and new ambitions. A new start in our lives. And the world around us needs that new beginning too. Firstly,in the very earth itself – that the land and the countryside will be restored to fertility and growth after this summer of drought and wildfires– that there should be a renewal of life in the natural world. Secondly, that among the nations there will be a renewal of a desire for peace and cooperation, and a reset of relationships.

The hope and prayer are for that promise of a new beginning that comes with September, and that we can all benefit, whatever our age, and look forward with hope and encouragement to the ‘year’ ahead.

“Pause for Thought” this month comes from
Olwen Woolcock