Hope calls to those who listen. It may sound different from what we expected. It may arrive in an unexpected way. But its song of invitation rings out nonetheless.
In a crowded upper room in Jerusalem, a group of weary travelers gathered with their teacher to celebrate an ancient rite together that commemorated God’s deliverance of their ancestors from oppression and the freedom given them to live as God’s people for the world. But those were the days of old. Their present days were full of trouble. Darkness was closing in around the band. Their teacher was popular with the common people, but those in power were offended by his every word and act. They were biding their time for an opportunity to eliminate the young religious upstart. Unbeknownst to those present, one of their own had already agreed to betray the teacher when no one was around to notice.
After the meal began, the teacher took bread, gave thanks to God for it, broke it and passed it around the table saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” When they had finished eating, he took a goblet full of wine and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”1
Later that night, his followers watched him be arrested by the authorities. The next day, he was flogged and crucified before their eyes. After his resurrection from the dead on day three, Jesus’ followers saw in his life of mission, his death on a cross and his resurrection from the dead the unleashing of a long-awaited New Covenant first promised through the prophet Jeremiah over 600 years earlier.
Our text from Jeremiah resounds with hope. But it was hope for those with ears to hear. Jeremiah did not come preaching to the affluent and well-to-do during a time of peace and prosperity. Jeremiah’s time was one marked by chaos,
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