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Jeremiah 31:31 (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,” says Adonai. 32 (33) “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 33 (34) No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, ‘Know Adonai’; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more.”
34 (35) This is what Adonai says,
who gives the sun as light for the day,
who ordained the laws for the moon and stars
to provide light for the night,
who stirs up the sea until its waves roar —
Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name:(Complete Jewish Bible)
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The congregation I serve recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. We were faithful about honoring the past through photographs, historic liturgies, songs and stories, but we were also very clear that the more important part of our celebration is, "What Comes Next?" As many churches prepare to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this coming Sunday, it becomes important that our celebrations look forward even more than they look back.
Notice the future tense in the Jeremiah passage: "I WILL make a new covenant," "I WILL put my law within them," "I WILL write it on their hearts," and "I WILL remember their sin no more." What are you celebrating? Is it a remembrance of the past or is it a hope for the future? Perhaps we need both more than we can know. After all, the Lord has given us a past, a present and a future, each with its own unique purpose.
We bless you, Lord, for giving us a past from which we have learned, a present in which we may serve you and our neighbor and a future sealed by our hope in your promises. May we all come to know you as completely as you know us. Amen.
Tim Christensen, '94
Pastor, Gold Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church, Butte, Mont.
Jeremiah 31:31 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.
32 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.
33 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.
34 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.(New Revised Standard Version)
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The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
Telephone: (651)641-3456-
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