The JesseTree Series: The New Covenant: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

THE JESSETREE SERIES:

What does Thursday of the Third week of Advent entail for our Jesse Tree:

THE NEW COVENANT.

SCRIPTURE: Jer 31:31-34

Chapter 30-31 is one of the fundamental texts of the Old Testament.  After the failure of the old covenant and the attempt at restoration this oracle speaks of the new covenant.  After some catastrophe from which only a remnant will emerge safely, the new and eternal covenant will be concluded.  Like the old covenant it will be characterized by 

" I will be Your God and you will be my people"
and by men's fidelity to the Law.  

But this new covenant will be quite different from the first and it will excel it.  On God's initiative there will be a complete forgiveness of sins.  Religion will be interiorized instead of being an external code: the law will now be in men's hearts.  There will be personal responsibility and personal punishment. 

This new covenant, proclaimed by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, will be inaugurated by the sacrifice of Christ. 

THE PERSON: JEREMIAH
God appointed Jeremiah to confront Judah and Jerusalem for the worship of idols and other violations of the covenant described in Deuteronomy.^[4] According to Jeremiah, the Lord declared that the covenant was broken and that God would bring upon Israel and Judah the curses of the covenant.^[5] Jeremiah’s job was to explain the reason for the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and captivity). God’s personal prediction to Jeremiah, “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,”^[6][7] was fulfilled many times in the Biblical narrative as Jeremiah warned of destruction of those who continued to refuse repentance and its more moderate consequences. In return for his adherence to God’s disciplines and speaking God’s words, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers,^[8] beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet,^[9] imprisoned by the king,^[10] threatened with death,^[11] thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials,^[12] and opposed by a false prophet.^[13] Yet God was faithful to rescue Jeremiah from his enemies. For example, when his prophecies regarding the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 BC,^[14] Nebuchadnezzar ordered that Jeremiah be freed from prison and treated well.^[15]

THE EVENT/THEME: THE NEW COVENANT:  During our reflection time today, let us ponder on the New Covenant in our lives.

We may wish to

1.            Offer a prayer of thanks for God's faithfulness to us in our lives.

2.            Rediscover the meaning of the New Covenant in our lives.

3.            Make a practical commitment: As today's theme is the New Covenant, we may wish to:

o        Make a time line of events/situations in our lives which speak of God's faithfulness to us in our lives.   If making a life time line seems daunting, then why not reflect on God's faithfulness to you during this Advent. You may wish to keep it in a safe place and add to it during the year and/or refer to it in times of despondency or disappointment.

o        Write a list of the ways we consider ourselves to be God's people and make a note of the ways we are not God's people in the fullest manner (e.g. weaknesses, sins/ faults, vices or bad habits).

o        What steps will we take to remedy these for the future- make a New Covenant with God for these areas in our lives.

SYMBOL 19:  THE NEW COVENANT

Let us remember the prophet Jeremiah. In the New Covenant the Lord promises " I will write my Law in their hearts.  And I will be their God and they will my people".  Let us praise our God who chooses to be so close to us.as we prepare our nineteenth symbol (eighteenth cut out symbol) and place it on the tree.