Covenants, Promises and Rewards

God’s relationship with His believers is based on covenant agreements that include disciples’ promises to do or not do something for which they are rewarded with eternal salvation as part of God’s plan of redemption.

 

Depending on which faith you choose to follow, the number of covenant agreements is recognized differently.  The Roman Catholic Church, for example, names five they consider official covenants between God and humanity: Noahic; Abrahamic; Mosaic; Davidic; and New.  Two not considered covenants are Adamic and Palestinian.  The two we address today are the Mosaic Covenant from the first reading of The Book of Exodus and the New Covenant from the Gospel of Saint John.

In the Mosaic Covenant, God established an agreement with Moses in which the Jewish people are freed from slavery and become God’s special possession.  Not only will they be blessed but God will claim them as His very own.  The covenant has the original 10 Commandments listed in the reading and 603 additional rules and regulations which the Jewish people must fulfill in order to receive the benefit of living in the Promised Land.

 

God promised to establish a New Covenant through the Prophet Jeremiah which was then fulfilled in Jesus.  This covenant does away with the legal requirements of the commandments and replaces them with a desire of the heart to do the will of God.  The covenant is God’s plan of redemption with all humanity who believes. 

 

It is because of this that Jesus chased out the money changers from the temple area.  They were still following Mosaic laws but denying God’s intent of the 10 Commandments about being holy by desecrating a place of prayer.

 

Based on the above named covenants except for the New Covenant, biblical history has a repetitive pattern of believers breaking covenants and being restored repeatedly throughout the Old Testament.  Jeremiah, Chapter 31:31-34 changes all of that because it will not be broken, but will last forever because of it being fulfilled through the work of Jesus.  God promises to “forgive followers’ evildoing and remember their sin no more.”

 

For us, as His disciples, it’s a win-win situation if we focus on God’s love, mercy and forgiveness as a mainstay to our life’s journey.  Though it can still be an either/or relationship if our free-will makes the wrong decisions, our fate of being condemned as in the past happens only if we outright deny God.  If we illustrate true repentance with a humble and contrite heart, God will not only forgive our sins, but will forget them as well.

 

Jesus’ gift to ensure our salvation was His suffering and death upon the cross as St. Paul writes about in his First Letter to the Corinthians.  We have been called to acknowledge the power and wisdom of God, though non-believers see it as foolish and a stumbling block.  God provides us with strength and wisdom to overcome doubt and fear.  

 

The New Covenant agreement with God is a two-way proposition.  It is not offered by God from the perspective of giving humanity a “last chance” effort as in the Mosaic Covenant.  Those Israelites were a stiff-necked people as witnessed by their actions in the desert after being freed by God from slavery in Egypt. 

 

God the Father sent His only begotten son as both a human and divine being, who though sinless, would feel all the pain and suffering as humans do.  But, by His sacrifice, forgave our sins and opened the gates of heaven through His resurrection so all could fulfill the purpose for their creation: Love God and all He has created for eternity.

 

As was written in the beginning, God’s relationship with His believers is based on covenant agreements that include disciples’ promises to do or not do something for which they are rewarded with eternal salvation as part of God’s plan of redemption.

Let our response to God be “Yes” in all that we are in thought, word and deed and in faith, hope and love.  It’s then when we honor the New Covenant agreement in obedience to God’s will though our baptismal vows and ensure our promises will be rewarded by God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.

Reading 1: Exodus 20: 1-17
Reading 2: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
Gospel: John 2:13-25