“A new regime”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, June 3, 2022

Jeremiah 31:27-34 (Forward, p. 36) CEV p. 802

It can never be said that God is in a rut. We are told that He is continually doing something new, and today’s passage certainly gives evidence of this. We see three examples of this:

a) Firstly, Israel and Judah had previously been subject to God’s anger, God’s disapproval, God’s punishment for their sins. And now that is past, past and done with. There is a new start for them, a new regime, you might say.

b) And then, secondly, there is a new twist to this question of God’s punishment for sin. No longer will individuals be held accountable for someone else’s sins, but only for their own. This too is something of a sea change, a radical change from the old idea of corporate responsibility where successive generations were often held responsible for past sins and misdemeanors.

c) But, even more basic, even more foundational, was a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humankind. The previous covenant was one that was written in stone, but this one would be written in human hearts, and therefore part of our very beings. This would be so foundational that it wouldn’t be necessary to teach it to each other. Furthermore, God would enable His people to keep their part in that covenant.

But here, let me pose a question, for me and for all of us. Have we really ‘embraced’ this sea change? Do we recognize that we have a new start, a new start every single day, where the past in forgiven and forgotten, and not just ‘for others’ and their sins and misdemeanors, but also for our own? And, do we take seriously the promise that God’s covenant is now within us, with God leading and enabling us in carrying out our share in it? Surely, this ‘new regime’ is something worth remembering and rejoicing in our part in it. Amen.

Forward notes: “But 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 33).

“The gifts of God for the people of God. In many churches, these words form the invitation to come forward for communion. It is a phrase so familiar that it can go unexamined. Just what does it mean to be ‘the people of God?’

“As Christians, baptism is the way we enter into the household of God, but that is just the beginning of the journey of faith. Engaging in practices of prayer, worship, scripture study, generosity, service, and mutual encouragement, we deepen our relationship with Jesus. And Jesus, in turn, transforms us. Over time, we become people so steeped in God’s word—including the Word made flesh—that it becomes part of us, written on our hearts. A church full of people so well-formed in their faith can hardly fail in its mission, as the catechism says, ‘to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.’

Moving Forward: “Spend time this month reading the catechism, which starts on page 843 of the Book of Common Prayer. It is an excellent starting point for discussion about how we should live as followers of Christ.”