Jeremiah 31:31-34
There is always one major problem with any monotheistic religion that worships a single deity. Usually such a God is seen as righteous or good. This same God is sovereign or rules the universe, to the extent that the deity deserves total fidelity in worship and worshipful daily living. When the wicked Babylonian armies invaded Judah (southern Israel) while sacking its capital of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, many people believed that God had either abandoned them, or that God’s claim to sovereignty was severely diminished. Jeremiah insists that this is the judgment which God has allowed for the purposes of bringing the nation to its senses and rebuilding itself. One interpretative text in which to read the whole book of Jeremiah is: “See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). They were in a self-destructive cycle. God broke it. There will be a time to rebuild.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 is a promise that Christians have also claimed, that God will make a new covenant with his people. Lest the accusation of supersession or negating the “old covenant” raise its ugly head, this new covenant resembles the demands, ways, and effects of the “old covenant.” The audience Jeremiah addresses are the landless exiles of Judah (southern Israel). Since the times of the Book of Judges, Israel’s problem has been idolatry and infidelity away from their God who delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh in Egypt. They have repeatedly had a temporary loss of land until they repented; then another leader (or Judge) helped them out of the mess of their own creation. God is now breaking this cycle. Land, a monarch, or a temple does not solve this problem of idolatry. Instead of relying on monarchs or temple authorities, God 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” (Jeremiah 31:33).
A quick four-point sermon idea on this text might include examples of God’s response to: 1) death; 2) displacement; 3) disillusionment; and 4) destruction. The idea that this is what happened to Judah so as to make them believe that God either no longer existed or was weak can find applications for people’s lives today (Theodicy). Equally painful scenarios can be described to people in the church pews today. Examples might be persons that have lost a job, experienced a difficult family situation or health condition, or even the loss of a cherished leader within the community or church who has served as the “glue” to hold the people together. Scars from such losses will still take time to heal.
Knowledge of God’s covenant will become internalized in all of the hearts of the people of Israel. God’s forgiveness will hopefully transform them to become the people of faith who no longer rely on land, monarchs, or a temple in order to live an intimate life with God. Now they can live as an inclusive community who delights in doing God’s will. To those who are in difficult times that extend beyond Holy Week or Easter Sunday, Jeremiah 31 would suggest that God is creating a new covenant or arrangement which is indeed currently disorienting. However, in the long run this will also make believers less dependent on worldly symbols of power and more reliant on the God who will build and plant. [source: Louis Stulman, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Jeremiah (Abingdon Press, 2005)]
Hebrews 5:5-10
Jesus’ priestly calling is to suffer. By overcoming the temptation for self-preservation in order to die for humanity, Jesus is the great high priest for the author of Hebrews. Also, Hebrews holds a similar high Christology or pre-existent view of Jesus as son before the creation of the universe as in John 12. This priest is also God’s son from the beginning of time. The author of Hebrews cites Psalm 2:7 and 109:4 as to be closely read as an application of Jesus’ suffering as a high priest. Jesus glorifies God in his time of suffering. As this applies to Lent, Christians should be aware of how they respond to suffering as either a way of complaining or abandoning God, or in some manner glorifying God. Hebrews sees obedience to God in times of suffering as the way Jesus, the great pioneer, models for all times in the church. Are there people in our churches who have made great sacrifices in terms of giving, time spent with the property, or investment in equipment and books which people enjoy now?
To suffer is to learn in Hebrews. It is to be obedient, even when the fruits of the efforts may not be apparent, similar to Abraham himself never seeing his family become a great nation (Hebrews 11:8-16). The example of Jesus is a core value which the author of Hebrews uplifts, about Jesus being the great high priest for believers of all times. Hebrews addresses a lethargic, tired community of faith. Why would one want to leave this priest for another idol? As this applies to today’s church, are there people who are tired of teaching Sunday school? Which church seems like getting people to serve on the church council is like pulling teeth in an old dentist’s office? Is there a church leader who wonders “Why do we teach catechism class anyway?”
In response to the theodicy question of evil and righteous suffering, Hebrews would say that the person of faith is to learn something from this experience. Suffering perfects one’s faith as they follow Jesus the pioneer in such a faith, as well as the “cloud of witnesses” or past saints and faithful family members (Hebrews 12:1-13). This reality has existed since the creation of time. However, the race or journey of faith is well worth it.
Melchizedek is named as the priest whom Jesus follows because he was not of the inherited Levitical priesthood (in biblical chronology, Melchizedek had existed centuries before the Levitical priestly order). He also blessed Abraham in Genesis 14:17-20. Melchizedek is a priest-king of then-Jerusalem, and thereby deemed a superior priest whom Jesus follows. One sermon idea might be to explore the history and life of this priest-king, before the official office of priest existed (Powell, pp. 622-623). One possible example is that Melchizedek is an example of the “trade school” or “normal school” model, before state accreditation arrived into institutions of higher learning.
Another possible direction of this text might be of piety and reverence. It is one thing to be reverent at a comfortable worship setting or retreat center. Can one demonstrate a similar worshipful or pietistic stance out in the workplace, in a long line at the department of motor vehicles office to renew a driver’s license, or when stuck in a gridlocked traffic jam? The challenge of preaching Hebrews is that it uplifts both suffering as learning, as well as running the uphill race while the finish line is out of sight. In a society that measures “getting it done” by short-term, measurable results and apparent progress, the Book of Hebrews remains a difficult “sell” to growing, emerging church movements. [sources: Luke Timothy Johnson, The New Testament Library: Hebrews (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); Mark Allan Powell, general editor, HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, Revised and Updated (HarperOne, 2011)]
John 12:20-33
Generally this text is dived into four parts: 1) vv. 20-22, a response to the coming of some Greeks; 2) vv. 23-26, the necessity of the Jesus’ death; 3) vv. 27-30, the internal personal struggle of Jesus in the face of death; and 4) v. 31 and following, being the universal impact of Jesus’ death. In John’s gospel, the study of God (“Theology”) and of Jesus as Christ (“Christology”) are one and the same. The voice of God in vv. 28-30 reinforces how Jesus and God are inexplicably bound to one another. While crucifixion is a “scandal” for a messiah, for St. Paul incarnation serves the same purpose of scandal in John’s gospel. The reader is privileged to know who Jesus is since John 1:1.
The prologue of John 1:1-18 orients readers as to what is to come in the gospel. This particular text (John 12:20-33) summarizes the portion of the Johannine prologue that says “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him” (John 1:10-11). Since he is the pre-existent Word made flesh, he reveals what God has shown him, but is still rejected (Matera, p. 270).
What revelations do people find get rejected today? Some would argue that global warming is one such example. Also, the encroachment of the repercussions of urban problems may one day arrive in one’s own backyard. Are there certain time bubbles or denials of realities that any given community experiences today? John says that the death of the current situation can become new life. This is how God’s glory works for John. In fact, in John the resurrected life of the believer is a continuation of their mission here on earth (Matera, p. 313). The Johannine church is essentially a missionary community that continues Jesus’ mission here and for eternity (Matera, pp. 304-305).
Earlier in the text, two Gentiles or proselytes (or God-fearers) approach Philip and Andrew (because they had Greek names) with a request to see Jesus (v. 21). One direction of preaching might be to ask: “Where do outsiders see Jesus in the church’s ministry of Sunday school, church council, committee meetings, Christian living in the community, and how church members conduct business?”
This text is the first in John in which Jesus reports that “his hour” is approaching. His hour is his death, which in John means his glory. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus’ glory is found in the parousia or second coming. In John, glory is in suffering on the cross. The saying about the grain of wheat falling on the ground, dying, then bearing much fruit can be attributed to the same source of Mark’s parables or possibly the Q source (Lincoln, p. 349). For John (similar to martyrs), Jesus’ death will be a response to the world and to the Gentile inquirers in v. 21, of seeing Jesus in his glory. What might have to die in any given congregation or a person’s life in order for new life to emerge? This is a Lent season question.
During difficult times of internal struggle, Jesus’ glory is for God the Father to be glorified. This is a common thread that ties all three of the Fifth Sunday in Lent texts together. Is that how God is being glorified in the difficult times of Christians and Christian churches today? (Or does one grow weary with one’s Christian faith, like the audience in the Book of Hebrews?) This is the last Sunday of Lent to push such questions. [sources: Andrew T. Lincoln, Black’s New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Saint John (Hendrickson Publishers, 2005); Frank J. Matera, New Testament Theology: Exploring Diversity and Unity (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007)]
Application
While being unemployed or losing one’s health is indeed a time for reflection in a dark chapter of life, the texts encourage believers to discover if God is working a new covenant as Jeremiah suggests; challenging them to continue in a race of sorts (Hebrews 5); or making them die to their old life (John 12). Volunteering at an animal shelter, church, community center, or simply helping out somebody who is homebound are ways the church can be the mission community of John’s gospel and glorify God at the same time.
Alternative Application
What is the price of glory? A business or nonprofit community center wants to take their organization to the next level! What are they willing to sacrifice? Are they willing to anger the old guard and traditionalists in the group? What are they willing to let die in order for new life to occur? John portrays a confrontational Jesus who says that either a person is with the Son and God, or they are of the world and the devil. Are there any such dreams or visions that churches are willing to use these categories to frame their ministries around today?
