It cannot really be true. Dick Clark, the television host time forgot, won't be hosting the New Year's Eve event this year in Times Square. This morning's New York Times carries the news that Regis Philbin will substitute for the ailing veteran of the last 31 celebrations. I guess 2005 will arrive anyway.

Pedro Martinez is soon to become a New York Met, if his announcement yesterday in the Dominican Republic turns out to be accurate. The reason: the Mets gave him a guaranteed fourth year in his contract, an offer the Red Sox were not willing to match for the 33-year-old veteran. Whether he can pitch that much longer or not remains to be seen. But he'll be paid that much longer anyway.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Dow Jones is inching closer to its 2004 high. The so-called "Santa Claus" rally might be underway again, as blue chips have advanced four out of the past five sessions and are up 2% for the month. Only seven trading days remain before the Christmas holiday. Anyone want stocks for your stocking?

Very little worth predicting can be. We'd all like a guaranteed fourth year, but few of us are given one. Think about the most transformative events of recent history. 9-11 comes to mind first, with Pearl Harbor a close second. Closer to home, I think first of where I was standing when Janet told me she was pregnant with our first child. And our second. My father's sudden death. The invitation to join the faculty at Southwestern Seminary. Our first contact with each church Janet and I have been privileged to pastor. None of them was in the newspaper the night before.

Neither did the Bethlehem Times carry a story announcing the imminent birth of a baby to Mary of Galilee and her husband Joseph the carpenter. A few field hands loitering nearby were privy to the event, but the rest of life went on as usual. As it will on the day when the first Christmas leads to the second one: "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Luke 12:40). If you're not expecting him this morning, expect him.

We think we'd have done better than the innkeeper and the rest of Bethlehem's citizens if we had been around on that first Christmas day. But Martin Luther is right: we have Christ in our neighbor. The best way to be ready for the second Christmas is to share the good news of the first one. To show his love to the next people you meet today. To serve their need in his name. That's stock whose future is guaranteed.

Copyright © 2004. Park Cities Baptist Church. All rights reserved.