Mtr Margaret Babcock

“This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They’ll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll forget they ever sinned!” God’s Decree. (Jeremiah 31: 33-34, The Message)

Dear Friends,

I rarely turn to the prophets, but since I’ve been angry, afraid and despairing in the current political climate, I began reading through the book of Jeremiah. I identify with this fiery prophet, both in his accusations against God’s people and in his love for his country.

I’m only to chapter 10 though, and God’s vengeance is the predominate theme. It makes me wonder how a violent and erring nation might access God’s mercy or if members of that country even have a right to ask for it.

I was happy then, to jump ahead to Chapter 31—our reading for today! This passage transitions from accusations and catastrophes to a message of hope.

What builds that bridge from vengeance to mercy? Nothing people do. Spanning the gap is solely God’s action—a decision to do away with the old and establish a new covenant.

A covenant is a mutual contract.

God’s beef with Israel at the time of Jeremiah was that people didn’t keep up their end of the deal. As a nation, they put many other interests ahead of their commitment to love and follow God.

Could a new contract fix this? Only if the whole concept changed.

Now, instead of the nation being responsible for everyone’s obedience, God promises to put God’s law, the divine pattern of life, within each individual—write it on our hearts! Everyone will know God firsthand.

Wonderful, yes? But that promise also carries two levels of responsibility.

First, no longer can anyone opt out of moral living, just because their nation follows other paths.

Second, even though we must choose our own path, we remain connected to others. Since God chose everyone in this new covenant, we must live as siblings to all, learning to love as God loves.

Fortunately, God’s mercy formed this relationship: “I’ll forget they ever sinned!” Christ embodies God’s continuing promise for us in the Eucharist: “This is the blood of the new covenant poured out for you”.

And there it is—the hope that we need each day to keep recommitting to Love.

We have not been deserted. We can rise from our individual and communal failures to take another step of caring for all God’s beloved. No amount of chaos or cruelty can erase the directions written on our hearts, and Christ walks with us.

Blessings,

—Mtr Margaret