Today we receive true gift in the prophesying of Jeremiah in the First Reading. Jeremiah speaks to us of a new covenant that God will make with his people. He, of course, was speaking to the Israelites of his time, however, we know that Sacred Scripture transcends time and is the Word of God for all people.
“I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 32.33
At this time in history, the Israelites had experienced many difficulties; wars, famine, being adrift for years not knowing their future. They were a people who had repeatedly fallen away from their faith in God, they had forgotten the covenant God had made with Abraham. Some might say they simply got tired and lost focus.
How is that like many of us today? Have you ever come to realize that you have “slipped” away from living your faith in Jesus? Have you ever felt a need to return to prayer, or to Mass or the sacraments? Have you experienced a dryness, or a lack of focus in life and wondered what you should do about it? Could it be that gift Jeremiah spoke of - that you feel drawn to “return” to God because God has written His law upon your heart?
We belong to God. We are his people, made in his image. God indeed made a covenant with us and made it known to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that all who know him, will know the Father and where his Father is, so too, he shall be. He tells us more: that his Father has prepared a place for us and he will take us to that place. Our hope is in the Lord.
During the remaining days of Lent let us reflect on how it is that we are drawn to God. Let us be grateful for the law that is written on our hearts by a loving and forgiving God, the law that assures us that God will be with us always, that we belong to him forever.
With grateful hearts, let us reflect upon the covenant that Jeremiah proclaimed to the people, that it may give us strength for the journey as we prepare to walk with Jesus into Jerusalem on his way to the Cross. May knowing that God has written upon our hearts, fill us with hope and sustain our faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Trusting in his Love
Deb Rudolph