Transformed

Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-12, Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33

Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 2, 2006

Heritage Congregational Church, Madison, WI

The days are surely coming, the prophet begins. Which days are these? The days of the Messiah, the days of the end times, the days of God’s Kingdom coming to completion—which days are coming? Will this be a good thing or a bad one? Will the people be punished, or will God’s grace abound? Will it be business as usual, or will God approach the people in a new way? What are these days that are surely coming?

The days are coming, the prophet says, when God will renew the covenant. The old covenant is not gone, but it is being renewed. From the old ways will come the process of renewal. The new covenant is like the old one because it defines relationship, but is unique in its approach. It is not like the old covenant, the one the people broke.

The new covenant speaks of a people at a crossroads with their God. They are given the chance to change. God comes to them with a new idea, a new way of relating, a new agreement. It is a crossroads in their relationship with their Creator. The question for the people is, which path will they take? Will they take the new way God is paving, will they dare to change?

In this section of Jeremiah, we find hope and joy abounding. This is not typical prophet talk, where the people are reminded about their disobedience and told what the negative outcome will be. There is no suffering predicted, no pain or anguish or agony. Instead, the prophet speaks words of encouragement, words of love, words of empowerment.

In fact, chapters thirty one and thirty two in Jeremiah are so different from the rest of the book that they are given a special name—the Book of Comfort. This small section within Jeremiah’s prophecy speaks to the people of homecoming, of God making it possible for them to return to their homeland, the promise of land, the promise of a future.

This covenant in chapter thirty one is about the reestablishment of community. The house of Israel and the house of Judah speaks of all the people in the promised land. It has been divided into the north and the south, into Judah and Israel, but together they are bound to God in covenant. Not just individuals, not just households, but the whole people.

How does God do this? How does this change come about? What does the new covenant offer to the people and what does it mean for their relationship with their God? The covenant speaks of three things that will change the people--that will transform them in the way they relate to their God, that will make this community a reality.

First of all, the covenant will be written in their hearts. Think of what that means. The heart is our center, the place from which our blood flows, from which our soul emerges. And the law will be written in it, engraved, marking our hearts. With the new covenant, God will put the law in us. It will be a part of us, part of our very being--not something on the outside, but a real change on the inside, from our center, our heart.

Secondly, the new covenant speaks in terms of mutuality. I will be their God, they will be my people. The relationship is intimate. We will belong to one another, God and us. The relationship is personal. God wants to be on personal terms with everyone in the community, everyone in the household, the whole people.

And lastly, God gives knowledge. We will all know God. We will not just know about God, but actually know God. In knowing God, we will be bound together. It is in the knowing that we will feel the mutuality, it is in knowing God that we will feel the law that is written on our hearts. It is in knowing God that we are changed, that transformation occurs, that community happens. There is nothing left to separate us from God, for God is inside of us.

King David is at a crossroads as well. In psalm 51 he confesses his sin and makes a choice. He begs God to be changed, to be made clean and pure. With knowledge of God, David knows his spirit can be made right. With God’s presence, David will know the joy of salvation. David wants wisdom in the depths of his heart. He wants to know God. He wants to be transformed by God. The time is now for David.

In John’s gospel we hear that the hour has come. He has made His way to Jerusalem and awaits the events of His Passion. As He speaks, Jesus tells the disciples that it is time. He will be glorified, changed, transformed. The process will not be easy or pleasant. To bear fruit, He must die. He challenges the disciples to do the same. Give their lives over to Him. This is what he asks. If you do, you might lose your life. If you do, you will honor God. The disciples are at a crossroads. What will they choose? Will they join Jesus as He is transformed, or will they choose to remain the same?

Then God’s voice speaks, for their sake, Jesus says. And then He shares with them the beauty of the cross. With the cross, with Jesus’ death, He will be lifted from the earth, and all people will be drawn to Him. As I read this passage from John I am reminded the fourth century theologian, Athanasius, who spoke of the cross in this way: Vertically, the cross connects us to God, for His body stretched from earth to heaven. Horizontally, the cross connects us to each other. Through Christ’s outstretched arms the people of the earth are joined together into one people.

This is the beauty of the cross. This is what we ponder on this final Sunday of the Lenten season, before we begin the walk with Jesus as He triumphantly enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, as He sits with His disciples in the Upper Room and prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, as He is crucified and dies on the cross.

Jesus was at a crossroads, as was David, as were the people of Israel and Judah, as are we. God is speaking to us now, just as He did through the prophet Isaiah and as He did as recorded in John’s gospel. God is speaking to us at Heritage Church, and urges us to say ‘yes’ to transformation.

The crossroads before us is that of responding to the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I believe with all my heart and soul that God is placing great work before us to do for the Kingdom. As I look at our covenanted body, I see God filling hearts with the desire to help others and to share God’s love. As I speak with members, I hear how God is working in our lives, writing the law on our hearts and inspiring us to feel that we belong to God. As I see relationships growing between church members, the many new ideas that are flourishing and the way we care for one another, I feel God’s pleasure and encouragement. And as I pray, I hear God speaking loudly, urging us all to keep listening, to continue to pay attention to the Spirit, and to open our beings to the place where we can place our total trust in God. God is here, in our midst, gracing us with faith, present with us always, offering us the gift of transformation.

We are at a crossroads. Will we choose to stay the same, or are we willing to place ourselves in God’s total care? Are we afraid of the unknown, or will we let God in to truly change us into the people, the church, the community God would have us be? This is where we are. This is what God is doing right here and now at Heritage Church. May we realize the blessing of belonging to God.