A New Beginning 

   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16) 

   I know new years is still over a week away and most look at the new year as a new beginning.  I prefer to look at the birth of my Lord as the real new beginning.  New Year’s Day marks a new year, but the birth of Christ marks a new life for all.

   The world was lost in darkness with no hope of redemption; the doors to heaven had been closed.  There were not enough lambs to offer in sacrifice to reopen those doors.  The price of our sins was greater than we could repay.

   On Christmas morning a newness came into the world, a babe that would change everything.  Laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, in the city of Bethlehem, the City of Bread, He would be the Bread of Life through which humanity could be saved.

   The old covenant was overshadowed, though not abandoned, by the new.  The old commandments were defined by the new commandments of love of God, and love of neighbor.  The doors to the kingdom of heaven were opened by the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.  A new beginning, one with the hope of eternal life in the presence of God, became a reality.

   As we celebrate Christmas, and a few days later the new year, let’s keep in mind that the real “new beginning” has nothing to do with the first day of January, but with the birth of a savior on Christmas morn.

 

We welcome Your birth Lord.

You brought new life and new hope.

Fill us with love for You and neighbor.

Let us celebrate the blessing that is Christmas.

 

Amen