Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:11-16
Hebrews 5:1-10
John 12:20-33

Revised Common Lectionary
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:1-10
John 12:20-33

Reflection and Response
Prayer Starter

Today’s readings explore our covenant relationship to God through Jesus. The prophet Jeremiah tells us that God looks forward to a new relationship with God’s people–a relationship of intimacy, forgiveness and faithfulness. The author of Hebrews describes the action of God that makes this relationship possible: through his suffering and submission, Jesus becomes the source of our salvation. In today’s gospel, the final chapter in Jesus’ suffering and submission begins as Jesus faces his crucifixion.

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry to Judah about 627 B.C. and ended it around 580 B.C. He thus spans the period leading up to Judah’s final defeat by the Babylonians (587 B.C.), the destruction of the temple and the exile of much of the population. Today’s lesson comes from a section, chapters 30—31, called the "book of consolation." In it are gathered Jeremiah’s oracles of hope for an eventual renewal and restoration for Israel.

In today’s passage, Jeremiah looks forward to a "new covenant" (v. 31). Unlike the old, this one will be written on the heart, which in Hebrew thought is the seat not of the emotions but of the will. This covenant is not new in content, for the Torah, the written law, is not replaced. It is new, however, in the means of its realization. The internalization of the covenant will enable people to keep it. The will of the individual shall become one with the will of God. There will be no need of teachers, for all will know the Lord, not just in intellectual terms but in the Hebrew sense of a close, intense and intimate personal relationship.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
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.
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.
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.
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.

Psalm: Psalm 51:1-16
This is one of the great penitential psalms. The hope and goal of the covenant was to live in right relationship with God and one another. Sin disordered relationships. The psalmist seeks not merely the removal of guilt, but the restoration of a right relationship to God.

Psalm 51:1-16
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.

Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering,
you would not be pleased.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10
The epistle to the Hebrews is a tightly-woven theological essay that stresses that Christianity has fulfilled the promises of Judaism. The author’s purpose is to show the superiority of: Jesus to the prophets, the angels and Moses (1:3—4:13), Jesus’ priesthood to the Levitical priesthood (4:14—7:28) and Jesus’ sacrifice to Levitical sacrifices (8:1—10:18).

According to Jewish tradition, Jesus could not be a priest because he was from the tribe of Judah not Levi. But the author of Hebrews argues that in fact Jesus is the real High Priest because he, like Aaron and Melchizedek, was chosen by God for his priestly ministry on our behalf.

The quotation from Psalm 2:7 (v. 5) affirms that Jesus was chosen by God, not self-appointed. His unique priesthood is modeled upon that of Melchizedek, whom the author later claims to be superior to Abraham and thus to Abraham’s descendant Levi and the Levitical priests.

For his lifelong submission to God, Jesus was saved not from death but through death. Whereas human beings learn to be obedient because they suffer for disobedience, Jesus, through his suffering, learned that obedience itself exacts a price in human life. Through his obedient suffering, Jesus is "made perfect" (v. 9) and becomes our source of salvation.

Hebrews 5:1-10
Every high priest chosen from among mortals
is put in charge of things pertaining to God
on their behalf,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward,
since he himself is subject to weakness;
and because of this
he must offer sacrifice
for his own sins
as well as for those of the people.
And one does not presume to take this honor,
but takes it only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify himself
in becoming a high priest,
but was appointed
by the one who said to him,
You are my Son,
today I have begotten you";
as he says also in another place,
You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek."

In the days of his flesh,
Jesus offered up prayers and supplications,
with loud cries and tears,
to the one who was able
to save him from death,
and he was heard
because of his reverent submission.
Although he was a Son,
he learned obedience through what he suffered;
and having been made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
for all who obey him,
having been designated by God a high priest
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: John 12:20-33
The appearance of "some Greeks" (v. 20, probably "God-fearers"–those who were attracted to Judaism but did not fully keep the law) indicates that Jesus’ public ministry is now complete. Ironically, the complaint of the Pharisees in 12:19 is shown to be true.

Jesus’ response is to announce that his "hour has come" (v. 23), the time for his glorification in death, resurrection and ascension. As Jesus’ mission bore fruit only through his death, so Christians bear fruit only through death to self. The term hate (v. 25) would reinforce the challenge to separate oneself from what this life requires. It does not express an emotion so much as an action requiring separation.

Jesus freely accepts his destiny in a plea that God’s plan be carried out as the expression of God’s name, that is, of God’s essential character. The victory over Satan is won through Jesus’ "lifting up" (v. 32), a term for both his crucifixion and his exaltation), but its working out in this life is the ongoing task of Christians.

John 12:20-33
Among those who went up to worship at the festival
were some Greeks.
They came to Philip,
who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and said to him,
"Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly, I tell you,
unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Those who love their life lose it,
and those who hate their life in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
"Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there will my servant be also.
Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled.
And what should I say–
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
No, it is for this reason
that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it,
and I will glorify it again."
The crowd standing there heard it
and said that it was thunder.
Others said,
"An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered,
"This voice has come for your sake,
not for mine.
Now is the judgement of this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And I,
when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all people to myself."
Jesus said this to indicate
the kind of death he was to die.

Reflection and Response
We can find hints of Jesus’ coming passion in today’s gospel. The authorities cannot tolerate the raising of Lazarus, so they finalize plans to kill both him and Jesus. Jesus himself senses that the final hour is coming. If he were like most of us, he’d get out now while he can. But his response is unique.

It includes elements of struggle and a final acceptance that transcends evil, inviting resurrection. It inspires those of us who struggle to see that tension was also integral to Jesus’ life. Jesus shows us that conflict can be creative. He toys with the idea of rejecting a mission that will bring pain, yet sees beyond the present turmoil in his soul. How could he abandon the project for which he came?

From his internal struggle comes his victory over death. The seed can split its shell only in the moist ground. So through crucifixion, Jesus can break through the limitations that restrict him to one culture, one time, one place and one human body. The Greeks represent the many cultures beyond the Jewish enclave that long for Jesus, but which will be touched by the Christian message only after his death. During Jesus’ lifetime, his encounters with non-Jews were few. Yet the people who would turn to him after he died were for the most part Gentiles.

Perhaps the unfinished story continues in our lives, most of us Gentiles as well. How intently do we seek Jesus? How often do we see him? Do we honor his presence within our hearts and within other people? Do we grasp the centrality of crucifixion in his story? in ours? And do we hope for that resurrected life which will unite all peoples?

Quietly consider:
According to Jeremiah, God’s law is written on my heart.
How do I discern it there?

Prayer Starter
Father, in my life, my relationships, my circumstances,
my experiences, my troubles, glorify your name ...