Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Verse 32It 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. Verse 33But 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. Verse 34No 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.
Devotion
The congregation I serve recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. We were faithful about honoring the past through photographs, historic liturgies, songs and stories, but we were also very clear that the more important part of our celebration is, "What Comes Next?" As many churches prepare to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this coming Sunday, it becomes important that our celebrations look forward even more than they look back.
Notice the future tense in the Jeremiah passage: "I WILL make a new covenant," "I WILL put my law within them," "I WILL write it on their hearts," and "I WILL remember their sin no more." What are you celebrating? Is it a remembrance of the past or is it a hope for the future? Perhaps we need both more than we can know. After all, the Lord has given us a past, a present and a future, each with its own unique purpose.
Prayer
We bless you, Lord, for giving us a past from which we have learned, a present in which we may serve you and our neighbor and a future sealed by our hope in your promises. May we all come to know you as completely as you know us. Amen.