Our Cycle B readings bring the theme of covenant to a close this week (as next week we celebrate Palm Sunday). Through our readings this Lenten cycle we’ve been witness to key covenant moments that God had, first with Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, then David. As we know, however, in all these covenants, the people fell eventually away… turned away from God. Now it’s time for something new… what we Christians understand to be the New Covenant… The Word for the 5th Sunday of Lent Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15 Hebrews 5:7-9 John 12:20-33 First we hear from Jeremiah, who’s prophecy covers the final days of the Kingdom of Judah. This week’s passage comes from a time of trouble, where the end for Jerusalem is near. Yet in the face of certain doom, Jeremiah is able to preach of a restoration where we here the Lord's desire to make "a new covenant with the house Israel and the house of Judah." This prophecy of the restoration is echoed in our Psalm, which
This Sunday we continue our Lenten journey through Salvation History with a continued focus on covenant. We’ve already given witness to the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. This week we turn our attention to the Davidic Covenant (the covenant with King David), or more accurately, the covenant with the monarchy of Israel. The Word for the 4th Sunday of Lent 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 Ephesians 2:4-10 John 3:14-21 Our first reading comes from the end of the 2nd book of Chronicles. Though our intent this Sunday is to remember the Davidic Covenant, our Lectionary has chosen an interesting approach. Rather than give us a story about King David, we are presented with a story from the end of the Babylonian Exile. Why approach the covenant with David from this tail-end view? It’s an approach that actually fits very well with the Book of Chronicles, for you see, the Book of Chronicles is much more than a retelling of the story we heard in books of Samu