A New Beginning
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.
The old has gone, the new is here!
– 2 Corinthians 5:17
With the new year, we are encouraged to shed the past and seek new beginnings. It is with this in mind, following our celebrations of the birth of Christ, that I have been thinking about the events experienced by the new Holy Family that were meant to profoundly change the world. This new beginning for them must have been dream-like as it was being orchestrated by God’s hand.
Joseph and Mary had completed an arduous months-long journey to Bethlehem while Jesus developed in Mary’s womb. With Mary about to give birth and finding no doors open to them, they used an animal shelter to rest for the night. Being resourceful, when Jesus came, they could have used water left for the animals to cleanse him. The strips of swaddling cloth used to wrap newborn lambs were used to keep baby Jesus warm and his tiny limbs straight. The stone manger, used to nourish God’s creatures, became the baby’s bed.
This is what the shepherds, who were called to witness the holy birth, saw in the dim light of an oil lamp when they arrived later that night. It is likely the shepherds were children, since it was common for them to assume the sheep-herding jobs of their older siblings when they were able. With this picture, God has given us a vision of a new beginning that can only be described in the humblest terms and continues to guide our purpose.
About two years later, an Angel advised Joseph to move his family to Egypt as it was no longer safe for them in Bethlehem. It was another new beginning for them. Jesus was in his toddler stage and becoming aware that he was a separate person from his parents and others in his world. We can imagine him wanting to walk and run, talking incessantly, along the way.
Their next big move – another new beginning – came about four years later when it was safer for them to travel. This time it was an exceptionally long trek to Nazareth, the home of Mary and Joseph. Imagine the blessings felt by their families and friends to see Jesus for the first time in six years. It was a new beginning for all of them.
Create in me a pure heart, oh God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
– a Psalms 51:10
David Duran
Class of 1964
McCurdy Foundation Board Member
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