Once again we are in the early stages of the season of new beginnings. The up and down temperatures of the pre-Spring days have stirred up a new excitement, a new sense of hope. Mother nature is reminding us once again that there is a very interesting play happening for us in our part of the world. The return to weather that is more comfortable than the freezing days of deep winter can be likened to the experience Noah had in the first reading of today's liturgy. A dove goes out in search of a new perch but returns, assuring Noah that the great flood is not completely finished. A second trip out and the dove returns again but this time with a "plucked off olive leave," a sure sign that new growths have become. Lastly, the third time the dove sets out and never returns, a sign that the bird has found a tree where there is the possibility of building one's own home. God's loving care and promise of never again allowing such a disaster to happen give Noah the signal to open up the ark and start anew.
"Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start .... As long as the earth lasts, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and Winter and day and night shall not cease." Sounds like poetic words from Yahweh in this part of Genesis. Surely this is a reminder of God's fidelity to humankind. Never again!
In the gospel reading we encounter the hopes and petitions of people seeking Jesus' curing touch for a blind man. "Touch him!" This was all that Jesus needed to hear to turn his attention to the sightless man. With a little spittle and being touched twice: a new beginning for the man who could now see.
You and me: do we realize the way God gives us to share in his gift of new beginnings not just in the early months of the year but every day of our lives? How? Consider the seven Sacraments. Each of these graced moments is an experience of new beginnings. Each Sacrament is like a key that opens a doorway to a new beginning especially the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Each day can be for us like the times Noah's dove brings a message of hope and fulfillment. New beginnings are there for us each day. Do you believe this? Every sunrise is like the day the dove did not return ... a sign of God's promise for new beginnings.
