• Apr. 25, 2007 - The New Covenant according to Jeremiah
From: dynamispublications.org
Thursday, April 26, 2007 Christ is Risen!
Hieromartyr Basil, Bishop of Amasea
14th Vigil of Pascha: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Apostle: Acts 8:26-39
Gospel: St. John 6:40-44
The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34 LXX, especially vs. 31: "Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." Seven centuries before
Christ, the Prophet Jeremiah prophesied that God would "make a new
covenant," and, the night in which the Lord Jesus "was betrayed, - or
rather, gave Himself up for the life of the world," He proclaimed "to
His holy disciples and Apostles" the arrival of those very days and the
launching of the New Covenant, saying: "Drink ye all of this: this is My
Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the
remission of sins."
It is noteworthy that the Apostle Paul, who tasted the Holy Cup (I Cor.
11:25), embraced Christ's saving death upon the Cross (Rom. 5:8), and
knew the risen Lord (I Cor. 15:8), chose to quote this entire prophecy
of Jeremiah into the body of his Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 8:8-12).
In doing so, he declared that Christ mediates the New more excellent
Covenant, one enacted on better promises than the former covenant (Heb.
8:6). Take note that Jeremiah's prophecy reveals 1) what the fault was
under the old covenant, 2) the Divine remedy for that fault, and 3) the
means by which God achieves that remedy in those who embrace the New
Covenant.
What was the problem, the limit of the former Covenant? Of itself, the
Law and the worship that Moses received on Mount Sinai, even though God
was its Author, still could not "perfect the conscience of the
worshiper" (Heb. 9:9). The former Covenant, as moral and social law and
as directives for the performance of worship, did not deal inwardly with
the souls and hearts of God's People. They could carry out the form of
the Covenant and yet be very far from God and their fellow members among
God's People. Laws and rules do not provide for inner formation but
only tell what to do, how to behave, and actions to take. Being
impersonal, statutes and instructions are subject to interpretation,
evasion, and outright infraction. As the Lord observed to Jeremiah, His
People "abode not in [His] covenant" (Jer. 31:32), even as they lived
with the Covenant. Instead, it was a matter of pride for them and a
badge to disdain others.
Notice what God promises through the Prophet Jeremiah: "this is My
covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days,
saith the Lord, I will surely put My laws into their mind, and write
them on their hearts." Interiorizing the purpose of God's law is basic
to the New Covenant, which is exactly what we find in the teaching of
the Lord Jesus. He directs His disciples toward change of heart and
mind, repentance, and inward renewal, but not to the annulment of what
God had commanded for His people through the Law and the Prophets (Mt.
5:17). To be in covenant with God, one needs to turn within, to address
one's inward life, there to purify the state of one's heart and soul.
The whole of the Lord Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" is concerned with
this precise need (Mt. 5-7) - as was the whole of His ministry.
There is, of course, a major problem with the greater covenant that God
promised and the Lord Jesus taught so vigorously: fallen men and women
simply are bound to fail in being perfect as God their heavenly Father
is perfect (Mt. 5:48). Ah, but notice - in the New Covenant God
declared that He would "be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins
I will remember no more" (Jer. 31:34). Mercy of course is what we who
live under the New Covenant know and perceive as the other basic facet
of the ministry of our Lord. Forgiveness of sins is what He forcefully
and regularly offers. Listen to His Eucharistic words: "this is My
Blood of the New Covenant [or Testament], which is shed for you and for
many, for the remission of sins."
Forgive me all my sins, O God, that with a pure heart, I may partake of
Thy deifying mysteries, wherewith every man who eateth and drinketh
thereof with a pure heart is enlivened. |
Post A
Comment! ::
Send to a Friend! ::
|
Comments
|
|
|
|
