Since my bike is in the hospital, I’ve been a little down this week; instead of riding my bike, I’ve been taking early morning walks, which I don’t enjoy as much.  This morning I left the house a little before dawn.  Just as the sun started to peak over the horizon behind me, I saw a very faint rainbow at the end of the street.  As I continued walking, and the sun continued coming up, the rainbow kept getting brighter and brighter; it eventually was one of the brightest that I’ve ever seen.  It was as if God started whispering, and kept getting louder and louder, until He was shouting with Joy.  I love rainbows, but I had never seen one at dawn before.  Maybe not having my bike was a good thing, because on my bike I would have turned off too quickly to be able to see the gradual brightening of the rainbow.

            Rainbows are a beautiful symbol of God’s covenant with Noah, and with us, about the preservation of humanity, nature, and the righteous.   The Old Testament records three other of God’s important covenants.  The first of these is God’s promise to Abraham about a land for his descendants together with a blessing.  It speaks to us also, for it was extended through him to all the peoples of the earth.  The second is God’s covenant of the law, which Moses brought down from the mountain.  It has been superseded by the salvation of the New Testament, but it still is the basis for our behavior as Christians.  We enjoy the fulfillment of the third.  This is God’s promise to David of a ruler over the people of God from among his descendants; this came to pass with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

            To us as Christians the most important of God’s covenants is the New Covenant.  Each Sunday during communion the minister consecrates the wine by saying some variant of Luke 22:20: “This cup is the new covenant, which is poured out for you.”  What is this New Covenant?  It’s God’s saving grace, which was promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and was made real by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It is the foundation of our Christian faith.

            There is a difference between contracts and covenants, although contracts can include covenants.  Contracts must have a consideration; the parties exchange something that is equally valuable to the other.  If a contract is broken by a party, it no longer binds the other party.  A covenant is a promise or pledge granted by one party to another.  It requires no agreement or action by the receiving party, and it stays in force even if broken by the receiving party.  Thank God!  Look at God’s covenants.  The Old Testament is full of examples of them being broken by a myriad of human failings.  Nevertheless, God has been true to his promises.  We can have faith that God’s gift of grace, the New Covenant, is eternal.

            Please read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and remember:  God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim