08/02/2016
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Richard Littledale.
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Script
Good morning.Β I can still remember the moment as if it were yesterday. My father came home from work, and as he turned to hang up his coat he had a big smile on his face.Β βWeβre getting a new carβ, he said.Β Now we had replaced the car many times before as us children had got bigger and bigger.Β We had never had a brand new car, though.Β The excitement was palpable β until the smart new car in its British Racing Green pulled onto the driveway.
We really long for truly new starts, donβt we?Β The calendar year is barely 40 days old; resolutions are creaking under the onslaught of reality; and it would be nice to wipe the slate clean.Β Or maybe we could be like the snake β shedding a skin every time it gets too tatty and sporting a shiny new one instead?
For some, today is the day to start again.Β It marks the start of the Chinese New Year β and this year is the Year of the Monkey.Β According to tradition monkeys are βwitty, intelligent and have a magnetic personalityβ β so this new year might suit some down to the ground. Many who will watch the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations may envy the prospect of beginning 2016 all over again.
The Christian faith is shot through with the idea of new beginnings.Β Whether it is Noah stepping from the ark onto fresh soil, Saul blinking in the light and leaving his murderous past behind β¦or Jesus telling a puzzled cleric that he βmust be born againβ. Always, always, the possibility of new beginnings is held out.
Dear God, let today be a day for new beginnings β be they great or small.Β Today, let the prospect of new possibilities outshine old regrets. Amen
Broadcast
- Mon 8 Feb 2016 05:43ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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