New Covenant: The Days are Surely Coming!

Hello friends! Last week (Click here for Link) we read about the way the Israelite people broke their covenant with God because of their impatience and anger as they suffered while wandering in the desert.  They were concentrating on their empty stomachs and their feelings of abandonment and not on the God who saved them from their oppressive servitude to the Egyptians.   As they were drowning in their sorrows, they just couldn't seem to keep their eyes fixed upon God.  I imagine we’ve all been there, done that at some time in our lives.   And I imagine that at some point we've been called to move on!


The Egyptians were not the last ones to enslave the Israelite people.   After a long period of peace in the Promised Land, followed by a time of the divided kingdoms and kings, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been exiled to Assyria.   The Southern Kingdom of Judah was later exiled to Babylon in three “movements” after Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple had been destroyed in 587 BCE.   The prophet Jeremiah is known for his laments … God had given him some very difficult messages to bring to the people leading up to the captivity and beyond.  He is called the “weeping prophet” for very good reason.   Led by unfaithful kings, the people of Israel had been unfaithful to their special relationship with God and they lost it all.   However, this week’s passage indicates that Jeremiah is beginning to see light over the horizon.   God has given him a good “word” to speak.   God begins to talk about the future, “the days are surely coming!”  


Jeremiah prophesied about a “new” covenant that God will make with the people.  This covenant will be different!   Once upon a time, God “wrote” on stone tablets but the new covenant will be written on the hearts of the people.  It is important to note that in Hebrew thought heart means more than emotions, more than just having feelings toward God.  Heart in this context means the “center of one’s being” and encompasses all of who we are:  our thoughts, our feelings, our actions and our “will.”   As we come ever closer to the cross making our way along our Lenten journey … we consider the special connection we have to this new covenant of which Jeremiah speaks – Jesus Christ, who lived and suffered and died and was raised so that we might have life, abundant and eternal.


I invite you to spend a few moments considering your covenant (we understand this more as relationship) with God and settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)  

          Breathe in ... write your Law (pause)


               Breath out ... on my heart, O God! (pause)


         
and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:


Holy God, I desire to know you, to walk with you and be your humble servant but often I wander off.  As I read your Word, open my heart to receive your covenant written upon my heart.  Forgive me and give me life!  Amen.    


Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV) slowly and simply let the words fill your heart with confidence as you consider God’s presence and promise in your life.


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.


Read the passage again slowly and Reflect on just a word or phrase …   Sit with your selection and listen to the whispers of God ... Listen with the ears of your heart!  Repeat your word or phrase over and over in your mind.  Let the Lord your God speak ... Listen with the ears of your heart!   Where are you being invited to be in “covenant” relationship with God more deeply?


Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God.   Once again turn your attention to your word or phrase, knowing that you may be drawn to a different word on this reading.    As you contemplate your word or phrase or commandment, how are you being called to respond, in word … prayer … action … or in some other way?  


Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow God to forgive you and heal you of deep wounds that continue to burden you.  Let God draw you deeper into the relationship of love that God has for you.  Let all the words fade away ... until you are ready to take up your journal and write about your meditation.  When you are ready to move out of your meditation … Pray:


Holy God, you are so generous and gracious to us, simple human beings that we are.  Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to show us the way to know you.   Amen.

Cindy’s Reflection … know, know, knowing God O how I want to know you more and more and more … the days are surely coming when I will know you more … you are my God and I am your child … knowing, such an intimate thought that human beings can know you, can hear your voice in our hearts, and can be always in your presence … know, know, knowing O God I want to know you more … I want to know you


Hey that sounds like words to a song … If music and/or visual images and/or nature are pathways to God for you take this link to a youtube video of In the Secret with a really lovely video montage of fall landscapes.  I think this is Chris Tomlin's recording but it doesn't say ... I really like the photos because they show different paths I can imagine myself taking to find God or different places I might stop to meet God … 

Broken Covenant: The Bronze Serpent

Hello … Have you ever considered your image of God?  This passage is one that challenges my image of God! I've always had trouble with “the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away” sort of God.  Am I really just a puppet on a string?   In reality God is bigger than any image I could imagine AND God is big enough to absorb any of my tiny struggles with who God is.   And at the same time, we read many spiritual writings that tell us that we become like the God whom we adore, which means what we think of God is really important in our journey toward spiritual maturity … so what is your image of God?   And how are you growing “like” that image?

We stay with Moses in the 4th week of Lent as we consider the way in which the Israelites have broken their “covenant” with God as they rebel against God and Moses with ungrateful laments.   The covenantal relationship between God and people is foundationally defined when we read, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”  So what happens when we decide we don’t like the direction God is leading us.   What happens when we don’t like the way we are being “treated” by God?   Perhaps we grumble a little in our impatience, “Why, O Lord?”   We may even get angry and cry out with the Israelites in frustration, “How long, O Lord?”    This passage gives us a lot to think about!

Before we move into our meditation, let us take a quick look at John 3:14-15 to see how the Gospel writer looked upon this passage and saw the love of God for humanity.  And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life ... and 16a for God so loved the world.  And still our passage challenges me.  The serpent, a symbol of sin set on a pole, and simply looking upon it brought life to the Israelites?   The cross, a symbol of salvation, brings life to all through the ages who have believed.  Perhaps the greatest gift of grace is to be able to see past our sin in order to gaze upon the love of God in Christ.

Julian of Norwich, the 14th Century mystic relates her visual experiences of Jesus and puts it this way (in All Will Be Well: Based on the Classic Spirituality of Julian of Norwich, Chilson1995, updated 2008/paraphrased from Showings, also called Revelations of Divine Love)

“I did not see sin itself, for it has no real substance, it is not real; it can only be known by the suffering it causes, and even that pain lasts but a while.  And during the woe we might take consolation in our Lord’s suffering.  And out of his tender love, he consoles us, saying: True, sin caused this pain, but all will be well.  In his voice, I never hear a hint of blame, and since we who are guilty are not blamed, why should we in turn blame God?”   

Why, indeed?

And now … I invite you to take a deep cleansing breath and spend a few moments centering yourself on God who loves you so much.   Breathe and settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in ... Let me see past sin (pause)

                Breath out ... to find love (pause)

       
and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:

God of Love, you sent Jesus to help me know how much I am loved.  Help me to see myself as you see me and to feel the love you have for me.  Draw me closer to you as I read and meditate on your holy Word.  Speak to me and give me a word for my life.    Amen.  

The Bronze Serpent, 
Scuplture/Statue above Mount Nebo, Jordan. 
Sculpture by Giovanni Fantoni. Photo by David Bjorgen. 
Used by permission under a Creative Common Share-Alike License.
http://www.gbod.org 

Read Numbers 21:4-9 slowly.
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way.  The people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food."  Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.  And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live."  So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Read this passage of the Israelites and the bronze serpent again slowly.   Reflect on just a word or phrase that draws you into the passage …   Sit with your selection and listen to the whispers of God ... Listen with the ears of your heart!  Repeat your word or phrase over and over in your mind.  Let the Lord your God speak ... Listen with the ears of your heart!

Where are you being invited to dwell for these few moments?

Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God.   Once again turn your attention to your word or phrase, and know that you may be drawn to a different word on this reading.    As you contemplate your word or phrase, how are you being called to respond, in word … prayer … action … in some other way?

Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow God in Christ to draw you deeper into the communion of love that God has for you in the Holy Trinity: Creator, Word and Spirit.  Let all the words fade away ... until you are ready to take up your journal and write about your meditation.  When you are ready to move out of your meditation … Pray:

God of Moses, God in Christ, O Spirit Divine ... let me take your word deep into my heart and far out into my life.  Let your love mold me and call me to be your beloved and help me love others the way you love me.      Amen.

Cindy’s Journal Reflection … Look … Live … Look and Live!  How tempted I am to dwell on my sin, the places where I fall short and now I find that is such a self-centered endeavor.  What a subtle little difference! Help me O God to dwell on you, only you.  Help me to know how much you love me … And help me to love others, not judging them but accepting them and loving them as you have accepted and loved me!

Covenant of Moses: The Ten Commandments

Dear friend … Do you know the Ten Commandments?  Take a moment before you start and write down as many as you remember ...

A biblical covenant, in Hebrew beriyth {ber-eeth'} is a solemn religious agreement between 2 parties, God and human beings. (HC)   Like Noah and Abraham (check out the last 2 weeks) who each entered into a covenantal relationship with God, Moses also entered into covenantal relationship with God but it was more focused as he accepted the covenant on behalf of the Israelite community.    The bible verses we call the “Ten Commandments” are the foundation of the Covenant God made with Moses and the chosen people.  The Hebrew text does not actually call these verses “commandments.”   The Hebrew word dabar {daw-baw'} meaning speech, word, utterance, or saying is followed by the Hebrew 'amar {aw-mar'} which means to speak, to answer, to command, to tell, to call, to promise.  So it is easy to see why we call these verses commandments.  

The covenantal relationship between God and people is defined when we read, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”  The Bible is the Great Story of this relationship between God and human beings.  The structure of the Ten Commandments outlines this basic love story of the God who walks ever with us, forever and ever.    The first four commandments embody our relationship with God, our vertical relationship.  The next six commandments embody our relationship with others, our horizontal relationship.

I invite you to spend a few moments nurturing your relationship with the God of Moses as you read and study and pray and listen and celebrate God’s Word.   Breathe and settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in ... God of Moses (pause)

               Breath out ... you are my God (pause)

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:

God of Moses, I want to follow you and obey your commandments.  Fill my heart with love and understanding of your holy word.    Amen.    

Read Exodus 20:1-17 slowly, and let the words inspire you and give your courage in your circumstances and your relationship with God.

Exodus 20:1-17

Then God spoke all these words:  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 1)you shall have no other gods before me.  2) You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.  3) You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.  4) Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.  5) Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.  6) You shall not murder.  7) You shall not commit adultery.  8) You shall not steal.   9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Read this passage of the Ten Commandments again slowly and Reflect on just a word or phrase … or the commandment that draws your attention.   Sit with your selection and listen to the whispers of the Lord your God ... Listen!  Turn your word or phrase or commandment over and over in your mind.  Let the Lord your God speak into your heart.   Where are you being invited to trust God more deeply?

Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God.   Once again turn your attention to your word or phrase or commandment, knowing that you may be drawn to a different word on this reading.    As you contemplate your word or phrase or commandment, how are you being called to respond, in word … prayer … action … in some other way?  Are there any direct actions you need to consider?

Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow the God of Moses to draw you deeper into the commandments and into the relationship of love that God has for you.  Let all the words fade away ... until you are ready to take up your journal and write about your meditation.  

When you are ready to move out of your meditation … Pray:

God of Moses, you are a faithful God and your commandments help me live life to the fullest.  Help me follow you and welcome your love into my heart.  Help me follow you and take your love into the world.    Amen.

Cindy’s Reflection … Sabbath, so important to set aside time for seeking God and for what God invites us to be or say or know or do … O Lord, what are you calling me to find in my time of Sabbath?  Help me God to make my time of quiet nourishing to my soul in my time of Sabbath.   Amen!

Covenant of Abraham: Transformation and a New Name

Dear friend … How important is family in your life?   What are the blessings you have received from your family?   What challenges have you experienced by being a part of a family?

Abram had been wandering the land of the Ancient Near East for years with his wife Sarai.   God called Abram into this wandering lifestyle in Genesis 12.  God said, “Leave your land … for the land I will show you.”   God makes promises to Abraham:  1) you’ll be a great nation, 2) your name will be great, 3) you’ll be blessed and 4) you’ll be a blessing.   You can look at a Map of Abrahams travels via this Link to Bible Maps.  

What about the covenant?   A biblical covenant, in Hebrew beriyth {ber-eeth'} is a solemn religious agreement between 2 parties, God and human beings. (HC)  A biblical covenant is usually seen as conditional … "if you will (be my people) ... then I will (be your God) ..."    After God makes promises to Abraham in Genesis 12, God then brings up the idea of a covenant in Genesis 15 and in passage from Genesis 17, we read more about the covenant God reaffirms with Abram.    However, this covenant is not conditional and is “everlasting” from generation to generation.   And yet, we wonder with Abraham and with Sarah, “How are these generations possible if Sarah is barren in her old age?”   When have you experienced something that you didn’t think was possible and recognized the power of God to make the impossible … possible?

God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah.  Abram means “exalted father” in Hebrew and Abraham means “father of a multitude.”    Sarai means “princess” in Hebrew and Sarah means “noblewoman.”   These name changes are subtle but have great meaning as they reflect the covenant God is making with the Israelites and the blessing of a transformed life.  Have you ever experienced this kind of transformation in your life?  What were the circumstances?  How did you recognize God’s presence in your circumstances?  

I invite you to spend a few moments to prepare your heart to welcome the God of Abraham to be with you and give you wisdom as you read and study and pray and listen to God’s Word.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with love with each breath you take!  Settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables) 
 

          Breathe in ... God of Abraham (pause)

               Breath out ... change my heart (pause)

          Breathe in ... God of Abraham (pause)

               Breath out ... change my life (pause)           


and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:

God of Abraham, as I read your holy word and rest in the story of Abraham and Sarah, speak to my heart.  Show me where you want to work in my heart and in my life to transform me and the world I live in.   Amen.   

Read Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 slowly, allowing this passage to unfold in your mind.   Visualize this encounter and allow the words to wash over you and give you peace.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous."  Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.  God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

Read the passage again slowly and Reflect on just a word or phrase that draws your attention.   Sit with your word or phrase and listen to the whispers of God’s promise in the text ... Listen!  Turn your word or phrase over and over in your mind and let God speak into your heart.   Where is God inviting you to trust in those promises more deeply?  Is there another invitation you find here?

Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God.   Once again turn your attention to your word or phrase, knowing that it may be a different word on this reading.    As you contemplate the promise you are hearing from God, how are you being called to respond, in word … prayer … action … in some other way?

Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow the God of Abraham to fill you with ancestral peace, the peace that expresses deep reverence for all living beings.  Let all the words fade away ... until you are ready to take up your journal and write about your meditation.  When you are ready to move out of your meditation … Pray:

God of Abraham, thank you for calling each of us to follow you.  Thank you for reaching out into our lives and thank you for bringing us back to you from wherever we are … through the beauty of storytelling.  Amen.

Cindy’s Reflection … Change my name, O God of Transformation!  I desire to grow closer to you and to others through the fiery love of the Spirit.  Fire and love … love and fire, what a combination … sounds like passion.  Change my heart and give me passion for justice and righteousness, for love and peace … in my heart and in the land, O God of my heart.  Change my name … Change my name … Change my name!   Amen!

If Music is a pathway to God for you, listen to this beautiful arrangement of the song, I will change your name … however the graphics aren't very good!  

Just listen ... 

Covenant of Noah: The Rainbow Promise

Hello!   When was the last time you saw a rainbow on a fresh, rainy afternoon?  How would you describe your reaction to its beauty as a reflection of God’s creation?

In this passage, we read about the first covenant God makes with all living beings, humanity and all of creation through his conversation with Noah after the flood waters recede.  A biblical covenant is a solemn religious agreement between 2 parties who are God and human beings. (HC)  A biblical covenant is usually seen as conditional … "if you will (be my people) ... then I will (be your God) ..."   

However ... in this passage the Hebrew word beriyth {ber-eeth'} which is translated covenant is one-sided and so is often referred to in commentary as covenant "promise" because God makes it freely and unconditionally.   A covenant can also be an "alliance of friendship" or a "divine ordinance with signs or pledges."  (BW)  In this promise of God, accompanied by the sign of the rainbow, we can see and feel God's care for the earth and every living creature ...

I invite you to spend a few moments to prepare your heart to welcome the Spirit of God to be with you and give you wisdom as you read and study and pray and listen to God’s Word.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with love all the way to your toes!  Settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables) 
 

          Breathe in ... Creator God (pause)

               Breath out ... You are mine (pause)

          Breathe in ... Creator God (pause)

               Breath out ... I am yours (pause)           


and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:

Creator God, I open my heart and my mind to you.  Flood my soul with words of promise and healing as I read your Holy Word.  Fill me with a sense of your loving care for all of creation and for all of humanity through the ages.   Amen.   

Read Genesis 9:8-17 slowly, allowing this promise of God to unfold in your mind.

Genesis 9:8-17 (CEB) God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “I am now setting up my covenant with you, with your descendants, and with every living being with you—with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you.  I will set up my covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by flood waters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”    God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation.  I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant between me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Flood waters will never again destroy all creatures.  The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures.”  God said to Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth.” 

Read the passage again slowly and Reflect on just a word or phrase that draws your attention.   Sit with your word or phrase and listen to the promise of God ... Listen!  Turn your word or phrase over and over in your mind and let God speak into your heart.  How do your emotions help interpret your word or phrase for your life?   Rest in the promise of God you find in the text for your life and own it!

Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God from the depths of the emotions that have been stirred in your soul.   As you once again turn your attention to your word or phrase, know that it may be a different word on this reading and allow yourself to consider how God is speaking to you through the text.  Consider the promise God is making to you and the promise you are being called to make to God …

Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow the God of all Creation to fill you with peace for your future.  Let all the words fade away ... until you are ready to take up your journal and write about your meditation.  When you are ready to move out of your meditation …  Pray:

God of Noah, thank you for your promises and your care for me and for your creation.  Let me sit in the rain of your love and rest in the shade of your rainbow as my faith grows in you and your promises.  Amen.

Cindy’s Reflection … remember the covenant, remember the covenant … remember, remember, remember … you are mine and I am yours … remembering I was created by God and loved by God … remembering that God belongs to me as I belong to God … and not just me, but all of humanity and all of creation … everything belongs to you, O God!  Your love and care endures forever and ever!

And I rest in your promise ...  Amen!