See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32: 37 – 41
Throughout Lent, and especially during the first half of Lent, we are reminded in the Old Testament readings of how God judged the people of Israel because they were unfaithful to Him and turned to sinful lifestyles that were abhorrent. The nations around them religiously practiced infant sacrifice and other heinous sins, and the people of Israel joined in on those practices. They adopted sinful lifestyles and practices that God specifically told them to never participate in. He dispersed them by allowing their enemies to plunder them. In the reading today, God promises to bring them back to their land, and most importantly, to make an “everlasting covenant with them”; this is the New Covenant brought to them and all the world through Jesus. “I will put the fear of me in their heart” – and Jesus, through His death and Resurrection, makes the indwelling of God in our hearts a new reality, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of God within our hearts is the reality of His love becoming the Kingdom of God within our very hearts. He gives us a desire to please Him, since having tasted the sweetness of His love, we no longer desire to be separated from Him, even for an instant. A sweet kingdom indeed.
Let us pray with St. Gregory:
Almighty, seer of secrets, savior of all, by Your grace,
may I not slide back and long for my former ways.
Free me through your blessed Holy Spirit, I pray you,
Lord of all, from the laws of sin and death.
Spare me from falling with weakness before reaching the dawn of your truth
as written in the Scriptures.
For wherever forgiveness reigns, sin is banished,
and wherever your living word gives encouragement, there is no despair.
And the hand of God being close by, nothing is impossible.
Rather, everything basks in light, filled with strength and invincible potency.
Yours is salvation, life, renewal, mercy, and at the same time,
a sweet Kingdom, incorruptible and glorified forever.
Amen.
Prayer 49 C
