March 17, 2024 – The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Right in the middle of Lent, we get this inspiring message of hope from Jeremiah: “I will put my law within them,” says the Lord, “and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33). What are we to make of these hopeful words deep in the middle of the season of penitence? And how can they give us hope?

These words were written as Jeremiah struggled with the consequences of Israel’s disobedience to the law of God. The consequences of their wickedness were the overthrow of the nation, the leveling of the walls of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the banishing of many Israelites back to Babylonia. The situation was bleak, and the prophet laid the devastation squarely at the feet of the people for their disobedience to God’s law.

And then Jeremiah spoke of the hope that God offered to the people. God would not write a law as was done on Sinai after the exodus from Egypt, one that was written on stone, which the people could disobey. No, in the future, there would be a new covenant in which God would write the law within them, on their hearts. “And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33).

Is this really good news? Won’t this new law take away our freedom to live as we want? For those who have been in love and have known the freedom that comes from having another person totally be within our thoughts and feelings, this is absurd. Having the law of love firmly planted in our hearts is an adventure in freedom. And truly, having the love of God written on our hearts is the essence of freedom. It is the freedom to act spontaneously, knowing that our actions will reflect what truly fills our hearts. It’s the freedom to be who we truly are, knowing that our true character is what is pleasing to God and reflects the best of what we are. This is indeed good news to the needy, the lonely, the anxious, the destitute, the depressed.

In the Gospel reading today, John relates that Jesus said he would “draw all people to himself” (Jn 12:32). This promise from Jeremiah is not just for those of us in the church. It is for all people, and an indication of the freedom promised by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 

In America now, we have religious fundamentalists who assert that they are the ones who see the truth. If we do not understand the Bible as the inerrant word of God, then they say that we are wrong and are not to be tolerated. I argue that this works both ways and we need to be in discussion, rather than intolerant. An attitude of intolerance leads to hurt and division. We need a new law of love written on the hearts of all so that peace might prevail.

Both sides are convinced of their own virtue and of the other’s heresy and utter error in their beliefs. If the law of God were written on the hearts of all, a new day of peace and freedom might dawn! What would it be like if God wrote the law on our hearts so that we would live in harmony, so that we would cherish our neighbors? What would this creation look like if we lived with restraint and humility, living for the whole creation, and not just our singular selves and our own narrow interpretation of creation?

Here at the end of the season of Lent, this passage begs us to explore the ways that we need the law of love to be written on our hearts. But more importantly, it sets us up to explore how – in just two short weeks from now – the power of the resurrection can find a home in hearts, so that we and all those around us can truly live a new life. For Christians, it is certain that external religious laws will compound our troubles. So let us look to the Holy Spirit, made available through the resurrection of Christ, to bring us the peace and justice that we so desperately need.