A Word from Pastor Lisa: Renewal
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It 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. 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. No 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.
–Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)
I wonder what renewal looks like in your life. Maybe it’s a new notebook to begin the semester. Perhaps it’s the feeling of entering the ocean and feeling the waves wash away the sand from your skin. Maybe it’s giving or receiving forgiveness in a relationship, then doing the fragile work of reconciliation.
Renewal has many different facets in Scripture, the most important of which is renewing our covenant relationship with God. A covenant is an agreement of faithfulness made by God with God’s people. Examples include God’s covenant with Noah not to destroy the entire earth again with a flood, the covenant with Abraham of circumcision, the covenant with Moses through the commandments, the royal covenant with David, and the baptismal covenant through Jesus.
In Jeremiah, the prophet promises God is making a “new covenant” with the people. Jeremiah addresses God’s people in exile, far from home, and out of hope. The covenant God made with Moses and Israel on Sinai seems to be broken. The old covenant, written on stone tablets, is being replaced with a new covenant, written on flesh, on their very hearts. The people have not been faithful under the old covenant, so this time, the Lord will do it differently, says scholar Kathryn Schifferdecker. This new covenant relies on God’s mercy that forgives wayward people and calls them back into a relationship with God.
As we start this year, we need the Lord’s mercy now more than ever. We need to be restored in our relationship with God and with others, especially those we’ve labeled our enemies. Thankfully, our Wesleyan tradition offers us resources for covenant renewal. Starting in 1755, Methodist founder John Wesley was part of New Year’s covenant renewal services borrowing from the Puritan tradition. These services allowed people to seek forgiveness for their sin, recommit themselves to God, and remember their baptisms, which we will do on Sunday. Wesley’s prayer became a central part of these services, and he expected Methodists to pray this prayer at the beginning of every new year.
Here is a contemporary version of that prayer, which I invite you to pray and reflect upon as we begin a new year together:
