Dear sisters and brothers,
“See, I am making all things new.” These words from Revelation 21:5 are the watchword for 20261. They follow the promise of a new heaven and new earth, where death, mourning, crying and pain are no more (Revelation 21:4). Is it all just about a distant eschatological future or does it also speak to our reality today? And if it does, if God indeed promises to make all things new already now, then how do we receive this message? With hope or with fear? With longing or with resistance?
Receiving God’s promise to make all things new
For many, this is good news they have long been waiting for: a child who has lost parents in a war; a young woman who is being harassed on social media; a man who has been looking for a job for months without success. It is good news for all who are losing hope.
For some, however, this promise may sound more like a threat. It might be because they have finally managed to sideline others and now stand at the peak of their power; others may simply be genuinely happy with how things are in their lives: there is a loving family, good friends, and an interesting, fulfilling job. In such cases, a promise to make all things new could sound unsettling. Some things, surely, should be made new in the world at large—but not in one’s private life.
It is comforting to know that the source of the promise to make all things new is God. Far too many political leaders throughout history and up to the present day, have promised to make things new, based on their beliefs, ideologies, or wish for personal gain. Once they come to power, sometimes through exploiting people’s fears and desperation, it turns out that what they promise isn’t new at all but the awakening of old spirits that were once left behind for good reason. Or it may happen that indeed something radically new is being introduced, which however comes at the cost of oppressing many.
How God intervenes
God’s promise to make all things new is of a different kind. It stretches across time: from the moment these words were first spoken to the early Christian community, comforting them in the face of a mighty empire; to our own present time, and toward the ultimate fulfillment of all things. God encompasses all times, as we read in the same Book of Revelation: “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, who is and who was and who is to come (Rev. 1:8).
We may sometimes wonder how God makes all things new and how God intervenes in the course of history. Some of it may remain hidden from us, yet one way God does intervene is through us, by calling us to spread the light that came into the world at the first Christmas. God’s incarnation, the embodiment of the Word in Jesus Christ is the beginning of the new creation, of making all things new.
The light that changes how we see
Consider how influential the light is in which we see things. In an art museum, under bright midday light, the colors of a painting may appear crisp and sharply defined. Shadows are minimal; details are clear. But the very same painting, seen in the softer light of evening, takes on a different character. Colors deepen. Shadows lengthen. What once felt energetic may now seem contemplative—or even unsettling.
the light of Christ changes all perspective
Similarly, the light of Christ changes all perspective. God can make us humans new by drawing us into this new perspective and inspiring us by
it. This is a perspective that inspires not to diminish or oppress the other but sees in everyone God’s child made in God’s image; that is willing to
share instead of only accumulating for one’s own needs; that is able to feel empathy instead of seeing the world through cynical lenses; that is
self-critical and ready for metanoia, change of mind, instead of being self-righteous. I pray that this perspective may guide our global Communion
in the coming year, enabling us to participate in God’s promise to make all things new and to offer hope to many.
I wish you all a very good and blessed year 2026, full of hope and full of wonder at how God renews all things.
Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt
LWF General Secretary
1 The watchword for the year is a tradition that has grown out of the Moravian daily watchword.
