Kathryn Hogan
This post is by Juan Pablo Saju, Verbum’s Representative to the the Spanish-speaking world. He is based in Argentina.
The Resurrection of Jesus Makes the New Covenant Possible
In the first Glorious Mystery, I invite you to meditate on the Resurrection of Jesus and the fact that this amazing, real event made possible to set the New Covenant and the fruits of it which is the coming of the Holy Spirit and our redemption.
The history of the Old Covenant shows many instances of Israel’s infidelity to God. But the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah elaborate God’s beautiful plan, and it is to make a new covenant with His people Israel. The prophet Jeremiah says:
Behold, the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke” (Jer. 31:31-32).
The new and future covenant foretold by the Old Testament prophets will involve the human being much more intimately. Again, we read: “This is the covenant which 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 upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:33).
This new initiative of God concerns especially the interior person. Jeremiah characterizes this interiority with a compelling and vivid image: “I will write it upon their hearts” (Jer 31:33). Rather than nation or race indicating god’s people, under the new Covenant, God’s law will be written on the hearts of his people. Only then is God truly “their” God.
According to the prophet Isaiah, the law constituting the New Covenant will be established by the Holy Spirit. In fact the Spirit of the Lord “shall rest on him” (Is 11:2); that is, on the Messiah. In him shall the words of the prophet be fulfilled: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me” (Is 61:1).”
This new covenant replaces the old one, and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
