Supplemental Reflections for Lent 2009
(40 Days of Lamentations)

Fifth Sunday of Lent
Our New Covenant in Jesus
 
“Whoever serves me must follow me”
(John 12:26a)

March 29
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:3-15
Hebrews 5:7-9
John 12:20-33

God’s covenant with Israel was something awesome. God took a slave people and made them His own. Today, we Christians are the new Israel. God has made “a new covenant with” us (Jer 31:31). And it is even more wonderful than the old covenant.

First, the covenant will be written in the heart and not on tablets of stone. “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:33b). The covenant would be something internal and not merely external.

Second, unlike the covenant that the Israelites broke, causing God to punish them (Jer 31:32b), this new covenant would not be broken. As the generations last till the end of time, so too would the new covenant last forever.

Third, being in the heart passed on from generation to generation, the people would know the Lord, even without formal teaching (Jer 31:34). The covenant would be lived out, manifest to all as a distinct way of life, carried on through the generations.

Fourth, the mediator of the old covenant was Moses. The mediator of the new covenant is Jesus, the very Son of God. Jesus won for us our renewed relationship with the Father on the cross, as “when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:9).
 
The Israelites had a covenant with God but did not live it out. How can it be assured that we will be able to live out our new covenant? This is why we need to have a new heart. Since the new covenant is to be written in our hearts, the condition of our hearts becomes crucial.

What kind of heart must we have? God insists “on sincerity of heart” (Ps 51:8a). How do we have a sincere heart?

First we must desire such a heart. “A clean heart create for me, O God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.” (Ps 51:12). Such a desire is not something we take for granted. The attraction of the world is strong, while our flesh is weak. It is easy enough to allow our heart to become a little dirty.

Second, we acknowledge and repent of our sins. “Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.” (Ps 51:4-5). What does this entail?

• We aver that we are sinners, that we have a sinful, weak human flesh. “True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.” (Ps 51:7). We recognize the challenge of having a pure heart even as we are burdened by original sin.

• We acknowledge that when we sin (for example, against another person), it is really God we sin against. “Against you alone have I sinned” (Ps 51:6a). This is important because our covenant is with God.

• We recognize than in the face of a perfect God who stooped down to enter into covenant with us, any sin is an abomination. “I have done such evil in your sight” (Ps 51:6b). Such recognition enables us to be eager to repent.

• We accept that it is just by God’s mercy that we are forgiven. If God were to punish us, the reality is “that you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.” (Ps 51:6c). When the Israelites were punished, only they were to blame. Though we deserve to be punished, we trust in God’s mercy and compassion. “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.” (Ps 51:3).

Third, while being graced by God whenever we repent and turn to Him, we need to know how much more we need to learn about Him and His ways. This is not mere head knowledge, but godly wisdom. It is wisdom that penetrates and permeates our whole being. Our prayer must always be: “in my inmost being teach me wisdom.” (Ps 51:8b). We get such wisdom through personal prayer, studying the Bible, undergoing community formation, and interacting with holy brethren.
     
Fourth, we recognize that a truly clean heart can only come and be sustained by holiness. Thus we need to desire to be holy as God is holy. “Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.” (Ps 51:9).

Fifth, if we are to be holy, then we must live in the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who enables us to live a vibrant life in Christ. It is the Spirit who empowers us. It is the Spirit who enables us to remain in the presence of God. “Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.” (Ps 51:13).
 
How can we have a truly clean heart? How can we be holy as God is holy? How can we be faithful to our covenant?

These can only happen as we follow and serve Jesus. “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” (Jn 12:26). How do we follow Jesus?

First, we must be obedient to God not matter what is demanded of us, no matter how difficult or painful. “In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears” (Heb 5:7a). Even as Jesus prayed for the cup to pass him by, even as he was the Son who could ask the Father to save him from death (Heb 5:8a,7), he accepted the Father’s will. Thus “he learned obedience from what he suffered.” (Heb 5:8b).

Second, just like Jesus, we must hate our life and be willing to lose it. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” (Jn 12:25). The world and the devil entice us to pamper our lives and enjoy worldly pleasures. Our fallen flesh would just be willing to oblige. So we need to die to self. In fact, we need to put to death what is fleshly within us.

But the wonderful thing with dying to self is that it is the key to life, in fact, to eternal life. This is the way it was with Jesus. He died on Good Friday, only to resurrect on Easter Sunday. The fruit of that is salvation and eternal life for us. So Jesus reminds us, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (Jn 12:24).

Third, while we can be troubled with the crosses we bear in life, we do not avoid these crosses (Jn 12:27), which God uses to purify us. We embrace our crosses, and through such surrender to the will of God, and through our perseverance in affliction, we give glory to God’s name (Jn 12:28a).

Finally, we must desire that all accept Jesus as Savior and come to salvation in him. God’s great gift of covenant is not for us alone, but for everyone. This is why Jesus went to the cross. “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (Jn 12:32). Thus, those of us who are first called are to share the good news of salvation with others. We are to evangelize. “I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.” (Ps 51:15).
 
What is the result of all these?

First, we are forgiven by God and restored fully to Himself. “Turn away your face from my sins, blot out all my guilt.” (Ps 51:11). This is amazing. The holy God will erase our guilt and remember our sins no more. We can then live out the fullness of our covenant.

Second, our hearts and our lives will be filled with great joy. Rightly so, as we experience the fullness of our new covenant with God. “Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” (Ps 51:10).

*   *   *

The kind of God we have:  A God who enters into covenant with us.
 
Our covenant response:  Live in purity of heart.
 
Lamentations reflection/action:  Do you recognize the many ways you have sinned  against God? In what ways have you not lived out your covenant? Repent, and ask Jesus to show you the way.
 
Lamentations prayer:  I praise and thank you Lord for extending to me the wonderful gift of covenant. I know that I am not worthy, being a sinner. But I trust in your divine mercy, in your abundant compassion. Wash me clean. Create for me a sincere heart. May my life, lived in the power of your Spirit, always give honor and glory to you. Amen.

(You are encouraged to use the book “Forty Days of Lamentations” during this period of Lent 2009. Most of the scripture readings are the same. In case they are not, a supplemental reflection is provided. Let us continue to learn the lessons of Lamentations.)