Today’s first reading from Jeremiah is one of the most important passages in the Old Testament. The prophetic voice of Jeremiah announces a new covenant. This new covenant is different because it is not tied to old covenant institutions. Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of most of the institutions linked to the old covenants: the leveling of Jerusalem, the demolition of the Temple, the destruction of Judah and the exile of the people of Israel to Babylon.
In the new covenant God is revealed to us just as God was revealed to Noah, Abraham, Moses and all the prophets. God, speaking through Jeremiah says, “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more” (Jer 31: 33-34). After 2,600 years this message is not particularly astounding. However, for the people living around 605 BC it was radically different from anything they had ever heard. It was an invitation to have a “personal” relationship with God. This new covenant was not written on stone tablets, it is written on each of our hearts so all of us can know God. This is a covenant of personal conviction.
Jesus, through his obedience to His Father, crucifixion, death and Resurrection, fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah. And Jesus, through his obedience, crucifixion, death and resurrection gave us another covenant. This covenant like that foreseen by Jeremiah is all inclusive as we read in today’s 2nd reading from Hebrews 5:9: Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
In today’s Gospel, John 12:20-33, we see Jesus glorified before Gentiles. Even the Pharisees observed in verse 19, “Look, the whole world has gone after him.” Jesus told all those who witnessed his glorification,” When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself “(John 12:32). Our Holy Father, Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium that “The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him. He sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives” (112). And so we pray,
In our hearts, O God,
you have written a covenant of grace,
sealed by the obedience of Jesus your Son.
Raise us up with Christ -
the grain fallen to earth
that yields a harvest of everlasting life.
Bring us to glorify your name
by following faithfully the path that leads to you.
We ask this through Christ, our deliverance and hope,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
AMEN
