Lenten Journey 2011 - February 15, 2011 - Presenter: Fr Antonio O Moreno - Week 3: Light and Darkness on the Easter Road
(Received in email)
Knights of Columbus Bible Study – Tuesday 7:00 p.m.
K. C. Hall Hwy 90 - Del Rio, Texas
Opening prayer: Psalm 103
Theme: “…Love your God with all your heart…” Det. 6: 5
Scripture: Jer. 31: 31-34
Why does the Lord want to make a new convent with the house of Israel and the house of Judah? For over forty years Jeremiah had walk the streets of Jerusalem preaching, warning, entreating the people to return to a real relationship with the true God. For forty years he was predicting this destruction that would come if they insisted on turning their backs on the only One who could protect them. They did not listen. God’s messenger, they whipped him, they put him in stocks, they threw him into a muddy pit, they put him in prison, and they accused him of treason and plotted to kill him. Even his own brother, members of his own family (Jer. 12:6)
The leading theme in the book of Jeremiah is to make clear distinction between true and false worship of God. The real problem in Israel and Judah was that they had forgotten who and what God really was. Moses had told them plainly in Deuteronomy 6: 4-6, “Hear oh Israel: The Lord our God is One God, Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR HEART, with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give to you today are to be upon your hearts.
Jeremiah tries to help his people redefine the misperception which has crept into their thinking. The covenant relationship with God is not defined by king, nation, and temple. It is defined within the heart.
It is not long until king, nation, and temple are destroyed by the Babylonians. When this happens the people are forced to redefine the covenant. Their old understanding – concrete, historical, material, external- has proved false in the light of events. Still, God is a faithful God. The promise must be reinterpreted.
This is new covenant language. God did not give His chosen people a faulty covenant they could not possibly keep. He gave them the everlasting covenant. God’s commandments were always meant to be written on the hearts of God’s people. God has always wanted a relationship built on love.
The core of the covenant is the relationship itself. God is the God of Abraham, and Abraham belongs to God.