Monday, March 23, 2009

Preparation

Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 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. 32It 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. 33But 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. 34No 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.


While recently teaching Sunday School the person doing the announcements remarked how he and his wife had noticed that so many restaurants reference or at least hint at gluttony. “Fat Tuesday.” “Blimpie.” “Big Boy.” What could be the thinking behind that kind of marketing? Perhaps, it has something to do with desire. What are the things we desire, and for what reasons?

As we find ourselves at the beginning of the new work week, perhaps it would be best to take our reference from Sunday, the beginning of the Christians’ week. Being an Easter people means celebration, but it means waiting. It means being in fellowship, but it is only through the path of the cross. While the world tries to sell us (both literally and metaphorically) an Easter message of wholeness, our path is through the cross and death of Christ.

Be sure that there is hope in this season of Lent; this season of preparation. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us of God’s promise, “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 (Jer. 31:31).” There is hope even in our sadness. Even though the world markets all things Easter, we continue the journey to the cross. For the ashes on Wednesday, lead to an empty tomb on Sunday.

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, help us to see your salvation as we journey to the cross. Amen.
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