New Beginnings

By Urzula Glienecke

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'New Beginnings', transparent resin (photo taken at Iona Abbey, Scotland)

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The God we know through Jesus is a God of new beginnings.

God lifts up the suffering and the outcast. The broken find new hope and new life – even a tree that has fallen can begin new growth – even if the shape and the direction are different.

One of the greatest promises is the coming of God’s kingdom – we are part of that promise. 

Protecting and lifting up the lowly, the suffering, the poor, the oppressed. What can we do to pass the grace we have received on to others who need it now?

Ever unfolding promises of God can be found – in the Bible stories, narratives in the prophetic word, in coming of Jesus, in God’s Kingdom and God’s future. Jurgen Moltmann expresses theological hope as 'expectation of a good future which rests on God’s promise'. We are God’s feet, hands, eyes in this world. We are part of that promise – of the foretaste of the Kingdom which is already here and now, but at the same time not yet. If we open our hearts and homes to people who need it, when we work to end poverty, when we accept and welcome those who are different from us, think differently, believe differently, live differently – we are part of God’s promise.
- UG

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Urzula Glienecke, PhD, is a Latvian theologian, artist and activist living in Scotland. Urzula is a Member of the Iona Community. She is passionate about social justice, the environment and empowering people at the grassroots level.

Urzula's other work on Foreshadow:
A Foretaste of the Kingdom (Non-fiction, April 2021)
Lifelines, (Art, May 2021)