God is always forgiving and gives us many chances to renew our relationship with him. We see it in the story of Noah, where God first made his covenant with Man after sending a flood (Genesis 9: 11-17). Similarly, we see God making his second covenant with humanity through Moses in the form of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20: 2-17). Again, we see God renewing “the blood of the covenant” with us through every Eucharistic Celebration (EC). At EC, the bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. We are able to unite ourselves with him as Jesus says “This is the cup which I have poured out for many “and “This is my body which is given for you”. Just like how Moses promised the Israelites and led them out of the land of Egypt, our Father also promises us (his adopted sons and daughters) through the sacrament of baptism, that by observing his covenant and decrees, we will also be led into the Promised Land (heaven).
The second reading reminds us to be thankful to God for dying on the cross and bearing the weight of our sins so that we may live. Jesus’s death reminds us that we are redeemed from all our sins and he is using his blood to fully wash away all of our sins so that we may have eternal redemption, and restore the purity of our souls and cleanse us from our inner and outer selves. The Eucharist is a thanksgiving, and we show our gratefulness to God every time the eucharist is celebrated. This is our Father’s very last covenant with us, for it is an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken as it is made in and through Jesus Christ.
The Gospel talks about God’s eternal covenant with us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The celebration of the Eucharist involves being in the midst of a community to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection and receive a forgiveness for our sins every Sunday. Every Eucharistic celebration, we are reminded of the Passover meal that Jesus had with his disciples.
God entered into the first relationship with Adam and Eve, but they sinned against him. However, God did not abandon mankind and continued to make several covenants with us. By Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is nothing that separates us from our Father. We can stand unashamed in the presence of Christ for loves us and has redeemed us. For we know that God will still accept us as long as we return to him and are willing to change. If we can obey God’s commandments, we can keep his covenant in us. Jesus is the new covenant that does not need to be renewed again.
In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we take a step back and appreciate what we have and devote more time to deepen our relationship with him.
By Ephrem Music Ministry
