Written On The Heart
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt – a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, says the Lord. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
~ Jeremiah 31:31-33
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
~ Psalm 51:10-12
The prophet Jeremiah clarifies what the psalmist pleads for – fleshing out the newness of a clean heart and a right spirit. A new heart is God’s covenant translated from rules into relationship. It is written not on stone but on the soft tissue of human potential. It’s not a gentle scribbling, a faint pencil sketch, but a cutting to the heart – a painful, indelible etching that marks us for life and transforms us into suffering servants.
~ Susan Andrews
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.
~ Edwin Hatch
In scripture, heart does not mean the soft muscle that pulses at the center of our body. Instead, a biblical heart is the strong spiritual center that integrates our feeling, knowing, experiencing into a secret self that only God knows and only God can fill. Our old selves, incomplete, inept, inhumane, can, by the grace of God, become a new creation.
~ Susan Andrews
God promises a new relationship, a new heart that will cause the people to seek God’s guidance and fully obey God’s commands. This gift is ours to accept today as well and if we say yes, will create within us hearts that are open to God and all God’s people. With open hearts we will welcome the prodding and pushing of the Holy Spirit; with open hearts we will seek to be participants in God’s mission; with open hearts we will attempt to love all our neighbors as Jesus commanded; with open hearts we will move ahead with thanksgiving, hope and a commitment to see justice for all God’s children.
Give me a clean heart so I may serve Thee
Lord, fix my heart so that I may be used by Thee.
For I’m not worthy of all these blessings.
Give me a clean heart and I’ll follow Thee.
~ Margaret J. Douroux
Anoint my heart with warmth and compassion and a genuine generosity toward all who are in need. Anoint my spirit for mission, that I might reach out and into the heart of the whole hurting world.
~ Miriam Therese Winter
These reflections are for use during the week of March 21-27, 2021 and based on the lectionary for March 21.
Joyce D. Sohl
Joyce D. Sohl has been Laywoman-in-Residence since 2009 as a full-time volunteer. She retired as CEO of United Methodist Women in 2004. She is the author of 4 books, a teacher, retreat leader, writer and non-professional musician. Here at the Center her work is in the area of Spirituality & the Arts with such programs as Tuesdays in the Chapel, Vespers & All That Jazz, Poet’s Corner, quarterly retreats, and art exhibits.