New Beginnings

When Noah stepped off the ark, after the flood waters from the great deluge subsided, he must have experienced such peace and an overwhelming feeling of a new beginning to life. As Abraham walked down from the top of Mount Morriah with Isaac by his side, he must have felt such relief and realized what a gift he had received as God spared the life of his son. Then there is Mordecai and Esther as they stood silent and watched Haman swinging from the gallows. They must have felt an overwhelming sense of God’s providence, love and protection and sense of a new beginning as they watched Haman’s plan for genocide blow up in his face.  But of all the new beginnings recorded in the bible the greatest is the birth of our Lord.

Even amidst the joy of the virgin birth of Christ, the advent can be a time of sorrowing and great personal tragedy for many people, even a time of horrific heart felt pain which produces a dichotomy of feelings. Most of us tend to focus too much on the pageantry and lose our focus about the hardships that surrounded Mary, Joseph and Jesus’ during their first couple of years in Bethlehem. At the beginning Mary, who was ready to deliver Jesus, had to travel by donkey about 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. To make matters worse, the trip was for a mandatory census that was designed to generate tax revenue for the Roman government. When they got to Bethlehem, all boarding houses and Inns were full of other travelers so Mary delivered Jesus outdoors in an earthen grotto.

It’s during this time that one of the most troubling prophecies can be found in the bible. Located in Jeremiah 31:15 it says “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.’”  This prophecy was given 1950 years before the birth of Jesus and is referenced in Matthew 2:17-18.  When threatened by the fact that the wise men were looking for the true “King of the Jews”, Herod the Great gives the order that all male children two years and under in Jerusalem and its vicinities be slain. We can’t begin to imagine what a scene that must have been as hundreds of children were brutally murdered in front of their parents’ own eyes.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew helps us to see how this scripture relates to the murder of male children in Ramah a year or two following the birth of Jesus.

 Our modern world is involved in a great spiritual battle. While we can’t see the battle directly, we can witness its influence in the world today. Every evil act committed is a result of man’s original sin and fall from God’s grace. Around the time that Jesus was born, King Herod was used as an instrument of Satan. Driven by paranoia and his lust for power, Herod acted in much the same way Haman or Hitler did in their own times.  If by chance we could gaze into their eyes we would glimpse an empty, lost soul and an abyss of darkness. Lucifer was once a bright light in God’s kingdom but now exists as a fallen angel with a mind of pure evil. Motivated by pride, Satan loathes us, hates God and will stop at nothing to destroy the crowning jewel of His creation. He desires nothing less than to put out our light, quenching our love for God and one another.

So for everyone, especially those who weep, mourn and grieve for loved ones, may the end of this Christmas season be but the start of a new beginning filled with faith, hope and love. May our sunrises be filled with the glory of God as rays of golden sunshine once again warm our hearts with hope. Let us begin the New Year by meditating on God’s promises for us, our future glory and great family reunions that are yet to come. Let us not forsake the comfort of another, but instead draw near with hearts full of joy and well being, burying our past pain and sorrow so deep that it will never be able to rise again.  May we allow God to fill our baskets full of good, spiritual fruit that is ripe for the harvest.  And most of all may the peace that passes all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  We wait for the glorious day when all saints separated by time will arrive together, safe and sound, united in praise to the One True and living God.   This is our new beginning!