All Shall Know Me

January 23, 2009

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kinsman, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all shall know me, from least to greatest. Hebrews 8:10-11

He went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach. Mark 3:13-14

Piety

A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit. Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit. I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you. Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power. Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise. Psalm 51:12-17

Study

“All shall know me.”

God has been working on us for a long time. Yet after thousands of years of salvation history (recorded and passed on to us in the Old Testament), the historic Jewish people failed to live up to their end of the covenant that God set down with Abraham.

What was that original covenant? Recall how God instructed Abraham in Genesis:

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless. Between you and me I will establish my covenant, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” When Abram prostrated himself, God continued to speak to him: “My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations.” Genesis 17:1-4, 10

God is promising Abraham that his people will live long and be prosperous. They only have to hold us their end of the covenant – to walk in the presence of God and be blameless. The sign of that covenant in the Old Testament was circumcision. So the covenant was a two-way street, an exchange. In return for prosperity and land, the men paid a physical price.

The people did not live up to God’s expectations. They could not keep up the laws because temptations to sin were great. They needed more help. So God wanted to establish a new promise, a better promise. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they did not stand by my covenant and I ignored them, says the Lord. (Hebrews 8:9)

Despite our turning away, God does not give up. First, he sent his Son to wipe the slate clean. In fact the Catechism (578) teaches us that Jesus “is in fact the only one who could keep the covenant perfectly.” In the Catechism (1964), St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us that “even though the Old Law prescribed charity, it did not give the Holy Spirit through whom “God’s charity has been poured into our hearts.”

To make sure we had help living up to the terms of the new covenant, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us…We still have terms to fulfill. However, with the new covenant, we now also have the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to help strengthen us as we live up to our side of the covenant.

But how will we all know God? Jesus is not here any longer. “He has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.” Hebrews 8:6

In addition to the Holy Spirit, we also have the priesthood of Jesus perpetuated through the apostles. So if God wants to dwell in our hearts, if God wants us to know Him sincerely, then we need more help…help which will always remind us of Jesus. So, to preach the words like Jesus did, the Son picks messengers to continue to carry out his mission long after his mortal life ends. Our Gospel today reminds us of that first class of apostles called directly by Jesus.

As the old covenant is now replaced by the new, God takes up dwelling within each of our hearts. Everything we do – all of our piety, study and action – is designed to know God and to make room for Him as our ever-present companion on the journey, with us every step along the way, every moment of every day.

So the full meaning of the Old Law – “Walk in my presence and be blameless” – is now revealed in the person of Jesus and all that he passes on to us in the Sacrament of the Present Moment.

Action

How will you act if you walk in God’s presence? Just think…God is with you every step along the way. How will you react to your co-worker when you are impatient? How will you react to your neighbor who annoys you with a loud party? If you are conscious of God’s present at every moment, what will you do differently today? A contrite heart, O God, is pleasing to your sight. Psalm 51