The list is significant for who has made it. Since 1927 Time magazine has identified a person or group who “for better or for worse... has done the most to influence the events of the year.” The winner graces a year-end cover bearing the title, Person of the Year.
Every serving president (with the exception of Calvin Coolidge who was in office only for the first issue) has received the honor, so too Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi, MLK, Queen Elizabeth II, multiple communist leaders from China, the U.S.S.R. and Russia, and most recently Greta Thunberg. At 16, Miss Thunberg is the youngest recipient of the recognition.
There can be little question that each name on the list contributed to the state of the world in the year in which they were recognized. Some started wars, while others brought them to a close. Some were loved by the masses, while others were hated by the multitudes. Some possessed great wealth and others lived in simple surroundings. Most are powerful, but not all of them. Four are women, which is an under representation.
This year, editors from Time considered five candidates, concluding Greta Thunberg was the clear and obvious selection. But they could have done better, so much better. Read the achievements of this person. In the last year, this person…
Provided intimate treatment for untold numbers suffering from PTSD.
Delivered financial assistance to single mothers, to fathers recently unemployed, and to those living on fixed incomes.
Irrigated croplands worldwide and provided drinking water in developing countries.
Offered wise counsel to young adults in college and those new to the realities of their careers.
Blew the whistle on unlawfulness so that governments could prosecute offenders.
Influenced local, national, and world leaders to enact just policy and legislation.
Restored marriages by his intervention in what appeared to be hopeless situations.
Set free untold numbers captured in addiction to alcohol, gambling, recreational and prescription drugs, sexuality, and binge eating.
Calmed traumatized children and adults during and following episodes.
Comforted the bereaved during the funeral and later in their homes when alone in an empty house.
Saved a soldier’s life fighting in tribal conflicts in the Middle East.
Mended family relationships that many predicted would never be the same.
Cured breast cancer in a middle-age grandmother and prostate cancer in a 54-year-old man.
Restored sight to a blind person.
Gave a disable person the capacity to walk again.
Prayed for every Christian worldwide over and again throughout the year.
Held all the creation together by the authority and power of his person.
All this and much more this one who should have been acknowledged as Person of the Year accomplished without compensation for himself or cost to any person. This person’s work often went unthanked and unacknowledged. Frequently, his accomplishments were attributed to the efforts of others while many mocked what he tirelessly and generously performed.
His efforts on the behalf of humanity require no approved ethnic identity, professed creed, or social status. He does what he does out of deep love for all humanity. What's more, what he did this year, he will do again in 2020.
The Person of the Year is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision