April 7/Fifth Thursday of Lent
He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations –
Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. ~ Ps 105.8-9
As luck (and the liturgical calendar) would have it, today’s psalm verse about keeping covenant falls on my parents’ sixty-fourth wedding anniversary. Their binding commitment to each other and to their marriage is remarkable, and an apt illustration of what it means to enter into a covenant. It is more than a private agreement; covenant is a public and intentional stance that signals our willingness both to expect and to uphold certain promises. It is intended to be durable and reliable — and over time, it will come to uphold us, or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his niece, “It is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” A covenant, in short, is what love looks like. A few years ago, I read a story in the Wall Street Journal about a 94-year-old man who injured himself while caring for his dementia-ridden wife; his sole desire during his hospitalization was to “get back to Daisy,” for as he said, “Having someone believe in me and waiting for me back home, that is what gives me purpose. I am more than myself because of our marriage.” Whether it is a long-lasting marriage, a lifelong friendship, an extended tenure at a job, the covenants we undertake give us a higher purpose — and none more so than our covenant with God. While our earthly promises will inevitably be broken — by death if nothing else — God alone keeps his covenant forever. Thousands of years ago, God laid out his promises to Abraham: abundant progeny, a permanent stake in the land, and most importantly, God’s berit olam, or “everlasting covenant.” How blessed we are that God remembers forever his promise of eternal love. May we use these final days of Lent to renew our covenant with God and, as our psalmist exhorts, to “seek his presence continually.”
Steadfast and eternal Lord, Grant me strength and devotion to keep my promises to you and to my neighbors today and every day. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040722.cfm
To hear the Norwich Cathedral Choir sing “The God of Abraham Praise,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzQMrjnAZXc
