Monday 1st December 2025
Lorna Souter
“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over
the earth, and the waters subsided; …”
Genesis 8:1-2 (NRSV)
New beginning
Many of us will be aware of the long-standing tradition of spring cleaning and may even have indulged in it ourselves from year to year. With the dark, cold days of winter past and the warmer, brighter days of spring emerging, there is a joy to bringing freshness and new beginning into the family home. Windows can be thrown open to allow the stuffiness of winter to escape; accumulated dust can be cleared from every surface, nook and cranny – progressing from room to room to dust and polish, to scrub, to sweep, to vacuum and to wash. There is such satisfaction and delight in making everything fresh for the new season ahead.
Our verses today from the wider passage of Genesis 8:1-19, also speak about new beginning. The story of the Flood is the story of God’s judgment on a world that had lost its way. But, at the same time, the story of Noah is the story of God’s faithful, persistent and compassionate love. In God’s love, the Flood gives way to new beginning, the promise of a new world.
There are echoes here back to Genesis 1 and the account of creation. Once again, God makes a wind to blow over the earth, and the waters subside to let dry land appear. Birds and animals and creepy-crawlies that have existed aboard the ark in Eden-like harmony with Noah and his family, are now set free so that they may again ‘be fruitful and multiply on the earth’ (v.17). A new creation is pictured here, as God determines that life will go on and his planned loving relationship with humanity can start again.
Of course, as we follow the story of the Bible, we know that before long and for much of its account, humanity’s relationship with God will continue to fall apart. Through the Old Testament into the New, there is a long journey to undergo to reach a truly restored creation. But this finds its joyful, hopeful beginnings in the coming of the promised Messiah, through Jesus’ birth, and through his path and ministry to reconcile all things to God. Still further, we look forward to a lasting and complete new creation when Jesus comes again. Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth and our dwelling will be with God as he is making all things new in his Kingdom of light and peace.
Shall we pray?
Loving God, we thank you that you have never given up on us in all our waywardness and that you are a God of new beginnings. We thank you for the joy and hope that came in Jesus’ birth, the promise of a new and life-giving relationship with you through trust in him. In the ongoing turmoil of life and our world, thank you that through Jesus we can look forward with assurance to the coming of your wonderful Kingdom. Amen.
Lorna Souter is minister of Cockpen & Carrington linked with Lasswade & Rosewell in Lothian & Borders Presbytery.
Thinking it through:
What do you wish hadn’t happened or do you regret having done through the past year?
What new beginnings in your life do you give thanks to God for?
What does the new beginning Jesus offers us through faith in him mean to you?