There’s a sign that says ‘PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD’ on the line north out of Euston, on an end terrace house somewhere near Wembley. I used to look out for it when I was a child, fascinated by people committed enough to put it on a sign, and worried at being told to think about death and the hereafter on the train home. In the spring, this year, coming home in the low spring sunshine, everything green and promising, I saw it again, and thought for the first time: what if you don’t have to die? What if the sign meant, get ready to meet God at Harlesden Station, you’ll be there in a minute? That sign could go anywhere: get ready, it says, it’s spring and He is immanent in all things.

It’s New Year’s Eve. People say the turn of the year is a time for reflection and making new commitments, a time to contemplate the better person we can all become. January 1st has been the start of the year since 1752 and the adoption of the Calendar (New Style) Act. Before that the feast of the Annunciation, or Lady Day, on March 25th generally marked the beginning of the year. At other times it began on Christmas Day. Christian liturgical years begin in September, or December, and the rest of the world beyond celebrates at points throughout our year in progress. Any day can be New Year’s Day: the better person dreamed of in new year’s resolutions is always immanent.