Jeremiah 31:31-34

Early in his career as a war journalist (“The Babylonians are at the outskirts of Egypt, and the Lord’s really got it in for the Egyptians”), Jeremiah assures the Israelites that, as vengeful as God is about their sins, God will restore them as a nation after seventy years.

Then, in this passage, Jeremiah flashes God’s unexpected promise to make a new covenant, not just a system of laws but also a living relationship within each of God’s people, a promise to “forgive their iniquity and remember their sins no more.”

What a gift! God promises acceptance and forgiveness, no matter what: unconditional grace. God promises that even unendurable oppression and horrific violence will give way to redemption. In our time, when today’s oppressions rule and corrupt people’s lives, can we still hope that God will claim us, “from the least… to the greatest”? Can we really hope?

—Tom Arendshorst

Exodus 20:1-17

Today’s reading takes us to Sinai, where we stand with our spiritual forebears to hear a word from the Lord. Having led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, God gives them a vision of community through Ten Commandments that will shape their life and identity.

In a similar way, the season of Lent beckons us to embark on an exodus of our own. Like Israel, we must leave Egypt to encounter God’s words anew. Here, in the Lenten wilderness, we dust off the tablets, sift through the layers of meaning, and ask ourselves difficult questions about how we too might be shaped by God’s commandments.

What we find is a God who is passionate about relationship—the one God seeks with us and the one hoped for among God’s children. The two are interrelated. Like a spiritual Möbius Strip, our inner life affects who we are on the outside. Loving God with our whole being naturally overflows to love for neighbor. As a result, our lives are directed towards meeting the needs of our fellow human beings.

But what does that mean amid the complexities of contemporary life? Is it simply about following a list of rules that restrain us from doing harm—the “Thou shalt not”? Or, is it also about seeking God’s justice to safeguard the dignity and well-being of our neighbors, whether they reside next door, across the border, or a world away?

—Beverly Zell