Written on the Heart. Focus on Jeremiah 31:31 34 PREPARING FOR THE SESSION. WHAT is important to know? WHERE is God in these words?

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1 March 22, 2015 Fifth Sunday in Lent Scripture Jer. 31:31 34 Scripture Ps. 51:1 12 or Scripture Ps. 119:9 16 Scripture Heb. 5:5 10 John 12:20 33 Written on the Heart Goal for the Session Adults will explore the new covenant written on the heart and practice ways to embody grace-filled living. PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Jeremiah 31:31 34 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective, Jon L. Berquist In the new covenant, God will place the divine law into the hearts of the people. God does state the founding principle of this new covenant: I will be their God, and they shall be my people (v. 33). This association of God and people, each belonging to the other, is a frequent theme of Jeremiah (24:7; 32:38), as well as of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 11:20; 34:30; 37:23, 27). The relationship of belonging is the core element of the new covenant. This new covenant differs in form from earlier covenants in that it is written on the people s hearts (31:33), rather than on tablets (cf. Exod. 34:1). WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective, Samuel K. Roberts Jeremiah s prophecy offers us as well a powerful vision of the faithful life. Invited now to live a moral life that combines interior and exterior life, the persons living in a community formed by the new covenant will know God in a new way, as the one who seeks constantly to reconcile with us and the one who speaks directly to the heart. Now members of the body of Christ embody a grace-filled living, suggestive of the same graciousness extended to humanity by God and embodied so dramatically in Jesus sacrificial living and dying. Ultimately, grace-filled living is pursued in gratitude to God. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective, Richard Floyd Lent is a time for confession and penitence, for emptying ourselves so we are prepared for the good news of Easter. Jeremiah invites us to confess and repent boldly, because of the already-and-not-yet promise that God remembers our sins no more. Perhaps it also invites us to confess that the covenantal calculus, our quid-pro-quo approach to God, does not always hold. Now the shadow of the cross falls over everything a reminder that, even for God s most faithful one, there is no path around the darkness. Yet there lingers also the hope, the already-and-not-yet promise, that the days are surely coming when even the cross gives way to life. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective, Woody Bartlett Will this new law on my heart not take away my freedom to live my own life the way I want to? For those who have ever been in love, this is an absurd question. Having the law of love firmly engraved in one s heart is an adventure in freedom. Having the love of God written on one s heart is the essence of freedom. It is the freedom to be who one truly is, knowing that one s true character is what is most pleasing to God and therefore reflects the best of what the law requires. All of this will be good news to needy, lonely, and anxious people. 1

2 Written on the Heart FOCUS SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 31:31 34 Focus on Your Teaching A common explanation for sketchy or inherently unjust business practices is to say, I followed the letter of the law. It s not hard to cite examples of corporations that have made billions by doing just that. Many parents can attest to the junior-sized version of that same statement when they hear a child protest about a chore, I unloaded the dishwasher; you didn t tell me to put the dishes away! There is a world of difference between dancing right on the boundary of a law and fully embracing its intent. Adults may appreciate the opportunity to encounter ways of faithfully doing so. YOU WILL NEED six candles paper markers pens Bibles copies of Resource Sheet 2 copies of Resource Sheet 1 copies of Resource Sheet 1 for March 29, 2015 For Responding option 2: Bibles, Resource Sheet 1, newsprint, marker, paper, pens option 3: card stock, colored markers, pens According to R.E. Clements, in the promise of the new covenant the concepts of law and covenant are treated as virtually synonymous, as is true elsewhere in the Deuteronomic usage. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Jeremiah, 191. Ever-faithful God, give me a heart for teaching. Guide me as I lead others in encountering you in your Word. LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Before the session, set up six candles on a table in the shape of a cross. For option 1 in Responding, print Psalm 51:10 on newsprint. Welcome participants and any newcomers. Remind participants of the phrase, Rules are meant to be broken. Invite them to tell about a time when they broke a rule in order to do what they believed was the right thing. Ask: P How did you decide that taking a certain action was more important than following an arbitrary rule? P What difference does the intent behind a rule make? Tell participants that in today s session, the group will explore a law that is written, not on stone tablets or as part of a statute, but on the heart. Light all six candles. Remind adults that this is the fifth Sunday in Lent, and that these candles represent the six weeks of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter. Sit in silence for a few moments, then extinguish five candles. Read aloud Psalm 119:10 11, the lectionary psalm for today. Pray the following: Holy One, we treasure your Word in our hearts. Guide us as we seek fresh new insights in Scripture. Amen. EXPLORING Remind adults that two weeks ago, they considered the Ten Commandments, intended to be viewed as God s gift for living a faithful life. In today s focus scripture, they will encounter a different understanding of law. 2

3 Written on the Heart Writing a first-person account from the viewpoint of a person who might have experienced an event in biblical history can move participants beyond a purely objective understanding of a passage. Encourage adults to engage their imaginations to deepen their understanding. Explain that learning the context of today s focus scripture will help them understand it. Distribute Resource Sheet 2 (Carried into Babylon). Invite adults to read the information silently and follow the instructions. After a few minutes, ask volunteers to read their account. Keeping in mind the experiences the people endured, ask participants to listen for words of hope as someone reads Jeremiah 31:31 34 aloud. Discuss: P Given their recent history and the circumstances in which they were living, how do you think these words would have sounded to the people who first heard them? Distribute Resource Sheet 1 (Focus on Jeremiah 31:31 34). Ask the group to read silently the What? excerpt. Invite volunteers to read aloud the Scripture references from Ezekiel listed in the excerpt (adding v. 19 to the reference from Ezekiel 11). Ask: P How is the new covenant Jeremiah names different from previous covenants? P What does it mean that the relationship of belonging is the core element of the new covenant? Distribute paper and pens and ask participants to draw a heart. Inside the heart, invite them to print words describing what this new covenant is. Say that Jeremiah offered a powerful new vision of the faithful life. Ask adults to read the Where? excerpt silently. In exploring the Ten Commandments, they encountered the understanding that the two tables of commandments those related to loving God and those addressing loving the neighbor are not intended to be viewed separately, but are instead inextricably linked. Ask: P In what ways is this understanding about the commandments related to the excerpt s observation about living the moral life? P How does the writer define grace-filled living? To transition to Responding, ask the group to read the Now What? excerpt. Discuss: P What does having the law of love firmly engraved on the heart have to do with gracefilled living? EASY PREP RESPONDING Choose one or more of these activities depending on the length of your session. 1. Live Gracefully in God s Creation Adults can cultivate an attitude of gratitude, while at the same time acknowledging our complicity in exploiting the created world and making a commitment to respond with grace. One way of living grace-filled lives is by taking care of creation. Ask adults to name damaged parts of creation. Remembering the heart of the law, invite them to pray about it as a part of their Lenten discipline both in confession and by asking for what God would have them do. Encourage them to try to discern one specific step they might take to help to restore wholeness to that part of creation. 2. Practice Confession and Gratitude A first step in embodying grace-filled living is to articulate gratitude to God. Ask participants to silently reread the Where? and the 3

4 Written on the Heart So What excerpts to see how expressing gratitude to God and engaging in confession and penitence might be related. Distribute paper and pens and invite each adult to create a line for a litany of confession, asking God s forgiveness for an act of communal commission or omission for example, our culture s overuse of the world s resources, or the failure to ensure that children have enough to eat. Then read the lines in turn, with the group answering each line with the litany response posted on the newsprint. Leader: Read Psalm 51:1 2 All: Psalm 51:10 (Adult reads a line) All: Psalm 51:10 (Adult reads a line) All: Psalm 51:10 (continue until all lines are read) All: Psalm 51:15 Encourage adults to use the Psalm response to frame their prayer in the coming week, also giving thanks to God for Jesus sacrificial living and dying. 3. Create a Prayer Triptych Creating a simple prayer triptych can serve as a reminder of how the new covenant engraved on the heart calls us to grace-filled living. Distribute card stock and ask participants to fold it to make a three-sided triptych, with a large middle section and two smaller sides. On the center section, ask them to draw a large heart. Suggest that they print the words I will be your God, and you will be my people as a reminder of the covenant. On the left side of the triptych, ask them to print the gifts God has given them. On the right, they can name ways they can respond to God s grace. In the week before Holy Week commences, ask them to reflect on what they have written, focusing on the graciousness embodied in Jesus sacrificial living and dying and the implications for grace-filled living. CLOSING Encourage adults to take whatever action in their daily prayer to which they committed in Responding. Use the phrase You will be our God, and we will be your people as a breath prayer. Ask the group to sit comfortably, closing their eyes and breathing deeply in and out a few times. Then ask them to breathe in as you say, You will be our God, and out as you say, We will be your people. After verbalizing the phrases several times, invite them to continue breathing deeply as they repeat the phrases silently. Close by saying, And God s people say, Amen. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 1 for March 29, 2015, or it to the participants during the week. Encourage participants to read the focus scripture and Resource Sheet 1 before the next session. 4

5 March 22, 2015 Written on the Heart Adult Resource Sheet 1 Focus on Jeremiah 31:31 34 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective, Jon L. Berquist In the new covenant, God will place the divine law into the hearts of the people. God does state the founding principle of this new covenant: I will be their God, and they shall be my people (v. 33). This association of God and people, each belonging to the other, is a frequent theme of Jeremiah (24:7; 32:38), as well as of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 11:20; 34:30; 37:23, 27). The relationship of belonging is the core element of the new covenant. This new covenant differs in form from earlier covenants in that it is written on the people s hearts (31:33), rather than on tablets (cf. Exod. 34:1). WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective, Samuel K. Roberts Jeremiah s prophecy offers us as well a powerful vision of the faithful life. Invited now to live a moral life that combines interior and exterior life, the persons living in a community formed by the new covenant will know God in a new way, as the one who seeks constantly to reconcile with us and the one who speaks directly to the heart. Now members of the body of Christ embody a grace-filled living, suggestive of the same graciousness extended to humanity by God and embodied so dramatically in Jesus sacrificial living and dying. Ultimately, grace-filled living is pursued in gratitude to God. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective, Richard Floyd Lent is a time for confession and penitence, for emptying ourselves so we are prepared for the good news of Easter. Jeremiah invites us to confess and repent boldly, because of the already-and-not-yet promise that God remembers our sins no more. Perhaps it also invites us to confess that the covenantal calculus, our quid-pro-quo approach to God, does not always hold. Now the shadow of the cross falls over everything a reminder that, even for God s most faithful one, there is no path around the darkness. Yet there lingers also the hope, the already-and-not-yet promise, that the days are surely coming when even the cross gives way to life. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective, Woody Bartlett Will this new law on my heart not take away my freedom to live my own life the way I want to? For those who have ever been in love, this is an absurd question. Having the law of love firmly engraved in one s heart is an adventure in freedom. Having the love of God written on one s heart is the essence of freedom. It is the freedom to be who one truly is, knowing that one s true character is what is most pleasing to God and therefore reflects the best of what the law requires. All of this will be good news to needy, lonely, and anxious people.

6 March 22, 2015 Written on the Heart Adult Resource Sheet 2 Carried into Babylon In 601 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon swept through Palestine to the border of Egypt. In the battle both armies suffered heavy casualties and the king had to retreat. The defeat of Babylon, coupled with Egypt s weakness, gave King Jehoiakim of Judah the opening he was looking for. He recklessly withheld tribute from Babylon, and the resulting rebellion gave Nebuchadnezzar the invitation to strike. Nebuchadnezzar, unable to leave for Judah immediately, first incited raiders to devastate the land. King Jehoiakim was killed in these raids, so his 18-year-old son Jehoiachin took the throne. Now Nebuchadnezzar mobilized his army for a full-scale invasion of Judah. Jerusalem fell, and Jehoiachin, after only three months on the throne, was forced to capitulate. The Temple and royal treasuries were emptied. The king, his mother, and the leading figures of Judah were carried away into exile in Babylon. The king s uncle, Zedekiah, was put on the throne in his place. But some lessons are hard to learn. After a few years, Zedekiah was persuaded to join a number of neighboring states in a further rebellion. In 587, following a long siege, Jerusalem again fell. Zedekiah was forced to view the execution of his sons. He was himself blinded and taken away in chains to Babylon. Many of the remaining leading citizens were also taken into exile, joining those who had been exiled in earlier years. The Temple and the palace area were systematically destroyed. Simultaneously, two institutions the Temple and the Davidic monarchy were removed. The people of Judah had lost the symbolic assurances of God s election of Israel, a deeply wounding event. To read the biblical account of this sad history, read II Kings 25. leading citizen taken into exile, King Zedekiah, or a person left behind in Jerusalem after the cream of Judah s society was exiled. To get a sense of how devastating these events might have been, call to mind the attacks of 9/11 and the emotions you experienced. Now imagine how you might have felt after the attacks if the White House and the Capitol had been hit by planes and the president had been forced to witness the killing of his children and then blinded. How would you have felt if the president, members of Congress, and other wealthy and powerful Americans had been led away in chains?