Jeremiah 31:27-34 (NRSV) as the CONTEXT for reading the Psalms
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.
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 to bring them 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. 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.
The days are surely coming! This is a favorite phrase of Jeremiah’s from the beginning of his writings to the end. Jeremiah uses the phrase 11 times. We hear it twice in today’s passage, which is found in the “Book of Consolations.” Remember the Book of Consolations contains messages of hope, dropped into the doom and gloom of Jeremiah’s world. The Book of Consolations is found in Jeremiah 30-33.
The days are surely coming! The days Jeremiah expects are the days after the exile, a time of restoration. In the first part of the passage, Jeremiah envisions a prolific future for humans and animals. Perhaps because the center of communal living, the Temple, has been destroyed OR perhaps because the community has been destroyed and dispersed … Jeremiah says that in the future, people will take responsibility for their own lives. This may seem rather normal for us in the 21st century, but it must have been shocking for the Judeans for whom this message was intended in the first place.
The days are surely coming! Jeremiah talks about a future new covenant between God and the people, one unlike that which was made when God delivered the ancestors from Egypt. The covenant at the time of Jeremiah was the Torah, symbolized in the Ten Commandments which were written on tablets of stone. But people were unable to obey the laws — and since the blessings were conditioned on the Israelites' obedience, the covenant was limited. The future covenant would not be on stone, but on human hearts. This new covenant would be found in the minds and lives of every person … written on their hearts!
The days are surely coming! Christians believe that Jesus is the agent of this new covenant. Belief in the new covenant does not require an invalidation of any previous covenants. What will be new about this covenant is its internalization … we won’t just know about God (in our head/intellect) but we’ll know God for ourselves.
Watch this video on youtube for a dramatic and musical rendition of the Easter Story as New Covenant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxyjiHCo7x8
GOING DEEPER through Lectio Divina (sacred reading) of Psalm 119:97-104
Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
Engage in the ancient experience of Lectio Divina* … Hear with the ear of your heart
1. Lectio … Read the Psalm portion slowly twice, once silently and then out loud. Don’t be caught up in the “literal” meaning of the text. Instead, listen for a word or phrase that catches you attention. Sit in the silence for a few minutes concentrating on your word/phrase … allow it to sift through your heart and your mind.
2. Meditatio … Reflect on the Psalm portion again paying attention to your word/phrase and the feelings, images, thoughts, or memories as they come to you … continue to ask God to speak through your word/phrase, images, feelings, etc. Listen to what God may be saying to you
3. Oratio … Respond to God as the desire emerges. Allow your prayer to awaken deep desires within you. Perhaps God is showing you an area of your life that needs some prayerful attention. Perhaps you want to express gratitude to God. Perhaps you are sensing a direction for your life. Do not rush … continue to wait in prayerful expectation as God forms your prayer and the desire of your heart.
4. Contemplatio … Rest in the silence of your prayerful being with your favorite companion. Allow your mind to settle. When you feel your time of devotion has been completed, say a simple Thank you … Amen.
*This way of Lectio Divina, praying with Scripture is found and adapted from Daniel Wolpert’s Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices
PONDERING Life in the Connections between Jeremiah 31 and Psalm 119
The Word of God, the “words” of God … sweet perhaps when we like what we hear … bitter perhaps when we find that we are not where we want to be and the “words” challenge us! What was the “word” that you heard in your time of Lectio Divina, or sacred reading? Carry that word with you as the day unfolds and allow God’s word to season your soul.
This psalm responds to Jeremiah by exulting in the Law. A covenant is a formal agreement between God and humanity. God said, “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:7)
Consider what the word covenant means to you and finish this thought … If God says, “I will take you as my child, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, for I have freed you from …”
God has set us free not only from something but also to something … Consider what God is calling you to do or to be. Use the following Covenant Prayer as a re-commitment to God.
PRAYING … From John Wesley's Covenant Service , 1780
Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
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