| “Covenant” implies a strong, committed relationship. There is a covenant between parent and child, that includes acceptance, guidance, and safety. And a covenant between husband and wife, that includes faithfulness and unconditional love. No relationship is as strong as a covenanted relationship.
Stronger than even the relationship between parent and child, or husband and wife, is the relationship between God and God's people. Because there is no word any stronger, we use “Covenant” to describe this relationship as well. The centerpiece of the Covenant between God and ourselves is justice and liberation.
Sadly, the relationship between parent and child may break down. I hear of children who have not communicated with an elderly parent for years. Or a parent who has rejected a child, because that child has not performed up to a parent's standards.
We all constantly witness the breakup of marriages. 50% of people who covenant themselves to one another become tired, or hurt, or restless, or legitimately can no longer live with their spouse. Roger Miller sings, “It's my belief that pride is the chief cause of the decline of the number of Husbands and Wives.”
God's commitment to us will never falter. As history has shown, nothing is as strong or as permanent as God's covenant with God's people.
On our part, there are times when we want to separate ourselves from the covenanted relationship we have with our God. We are flawed by sin, and make choices to try to shatter that covenant. We choose the moment over enduring commitment. We act unjustly towards our neighbor, or choose the slavery of sin instead of the liberation that is our legacy. We forget the Covenant.
Therefore, Jesus the Christ has left us his body and blood, under the form of bread and wine, precisely so that we will remember the Covenant and to strengthen us that we may not fall away.
A way to avail ourselves of this powerful and precious remembrance is to participate in the liturgy of the church. Some churches share the bread and wine monthly, some weekly, some daily. But it is the lifeline bequeathed to us to remember the Covenant. Therefore, churches throughout the world organize themselves in smaller, local units, to celebrate and make accessible the Covenant Meal to all. Liturgy Committees have grown in importance and effectiveness over the years, to add dignity and attractiveness to the celebration and ritual that surrounds the proclamation of the Word and the sharing of the meal.
What love God has for us to cement our relationship in an undying covenant! What love God's Son has for us, to leave us such a powerful, important, and living momento!
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