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Easter Focus
New Covenant
Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah spent years and years railing against the people of Israel, their leaders, and their deeds that led them away from God. Jeremiah was blunt in condemning injustice, outspoken in attacking hypocrisy, and a giant thorn in the side of his people. When the people would not listen to him, he complained to God, even urging that divine punishment be dished out against them. "Do not forgive their iniquity," said Jeremiah. "Do not blot out their sin from your sight." But God's response was not exactly what Jeremiah had in mind:
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand out of the land of Egypt - a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says 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 on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people . . . for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. [Jeremiah 31:31-34]
When the Babylonians took Israel's leaders into exile, God gave Jeremiah that new message for God's people. It was a picture of comfort and hope, telling them that God has not forgotten them, though they have acted as if they have forgotten God. God's word to Israel, says Jeremiah, is quite the opposite of what the people might have expected for their sinfulness: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. . . . I will turn your mourning into joy; I will comfort, and give gladness for sorrow."
Our lives today are often filled with sorrow and mourning. Sometimes it is quite visible and easy for all to see, as when we are struck with a debilitating illness or when a loved one dies. At other times, it is hidden inside, as when we deal with less visible concerns like family squabbles or economic stress. We live in a society that prizes strength and health and wholeness and wealth, and when we don't have these things, we struggle. We mask our struggling with anger, we minimize the pain, we deny there is even any problem at all. "I can handle it myself" we say, sounding for all the world like a bunch of three year olds. "If only our competitors didn't have such an unfair advantage," or "Yes, my company is downsizing, but that's OK - we'll get through it just fine," or "Yes, my best friend moved away, but with email and instant messaging and cell phones, things will be just fine." Yet they won't be just fine, and God knows this. Despite our turning away from God, trying to depend on our own strength and resources (feeble as they might be), God is persistent in loving us anyway.
What happened when the storms of human anger and death on Good Friday met the Easter dawn? Old love won out, and new life emerged. What happens when human unfaithfulness meets divine faithfulness? Old love wins out, and new life emerges. Easter is a time when the church celebrates this new covenant that takes our failures and sets them aside. "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" is our Easter greeting, and is matched by the response "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!" Throughout the Easter season, we at St. Timothy's will be celebrating this new covenant that God has laid out, and trying to discern what this new life will look like here in our lives individually and in our parish as a community.
Do you remember the last time you saw two people newly in love? Do you remember seeing the starry looks in their eyes, the way they seemed to smile at the whole world, the way in which they seemed to float along without their feet touching the ground? "I love you," says one, and the other's knees get a little weak, their smile gets a little bigger, and their eyes shine a little brighter.
That's what's going on during Easter. The empty tomb is God's "I love you" to the world, and now it is our turn to be amazed with this new life. Jeremiah gives us one hint about what form our reaction might take: "Take your tambourines," says Jeremiah, "and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. . . . Sing aloud with gladness."
And what do we sing? That's easy: "Alleluia!"
Monthly Focus Archive
2006:
Easter Focus: New Covenant
Lenten Focus: A Covenantal Response to Poverty
February Focus: Moving Forward
2005:
December Focus: Longing
November Focus: The Gift of Years
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Foundations
Summer Focus: The Book of Acts
Easter Focus: Tapestry
Lenten Focus: Rule of Life
January Focus: The Next Wave
2004:
December Focus: Surprising Grace
November Focus: Free Indeed
October Focus: Money Madness
September Focus: The Outrageous Promise
Summer Focus: Into the Fullness
June Focus: Thick Faith
Easter Focus: All Things New
Lent Focus: A Hungry World
February Focus: Commitment
January Focus: Unity
2003:
December Focus: Hope
November Focus: Worship
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Seasons of Faith
Summer Focus: The Gospel of John
May Focus: Faith
April Focus: Resurrection
March Focus: Truth
February Focus: Covenant Groups
January Focus: Sabbath
2002:
December Focus: Shut Up and Sing
November Focus: Spiritual Gifts
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Intentional Faith
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