The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, said the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
This time of year, we often make a lot of promises. Promises to old friends to keep in touch, to correspond more regularly; promises to our families to be more present, more freely giving of our time, more emotionally available; promises to ourselves to lose weight, exercise more, read more books, enjoy that morning cup of coffee a little more slowly. Yet the deals that we establish with ourselves, with our families, with our acquaintances fall apart nearly as often as we make them. We lose track of time at work. We put off writing that letter yet another week. We give up on the diet. My own list of yearly failures (and the penciled-in emendations) follows a fairly standard pattern:
This year I will:
• Eat more salad (large taco salad does not count!)
• Exercise at least three times a week
twice
once
• Lose fifteen pounds and keep it off
• Be more patient while in line at the grocery store
• Drive the speed limit
¦
(roughly)
The prophet Jeremiah recognized the weakness that human beings often experience in their lives; not only had his fellow Judahites broken promises and failed in their obligations to themselves and their community, but they had also continued to break their covenant with the Lord. Jeremiah and the prophets before him had repeatedly called the Israelite community to repentance for their failures to care for the poor among them, their obstinacy in relegating God to an inferior position in their spiritual lives - all to no avail.
In short, Jeremiah knew of every human what Paul would later admit of his own experience - "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do" (Romans 7:19) - and both had the same answer to the problem of human weakness: only the generous and loving creator could effect a change of heart in those who yearn to dwell once again in community with God. For Jeremiah, this change was described as God writing the law on our hearts; for Paul, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Romans 8:2). As we reflect during these days between Christmas and Epiphany, the time after Jesus' birth and our commemoration of the recognition of who he is, let us also reflect on what it means to live a more Christ-like life in a world in which many of us have our daily needs provided for so completely that we make lists of things to do next year containing such mundanities as "lose weight" and "drive the speed limit". Let us pray that we may feel the Spirit of God moving within us to a greater extent, so that our hearts are changed and brought ever more in alignment with the creator's will. Let us add on to our list of New Year's resolutions things like, "Participate regularly in Habitat for Humanity this year", or "Volunteer at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen", and experience how God moves us through the person of Christ. If we lose weight this year, let it be at least in part because of sweat poured out in the service of others, or because we share a greater portion of our meals with those who cannot afford to eat so well.
Heavenly Lord, I pray that you would etch your law upon my heart more fully; give me the faith to turn to you in times of distress; provide me with the wherewithal to work towards the coming of your kingdom; and strengthen me for your service. In your most holy name, Amen.
Contributed by Jeremy
Sunday December 30, 2007
Liturgical Year A Week 5