Monday 19 October 2026

Psalm 148

Background
This week we are reading passages from the letter to the Hebrews, urging new Christians to stay faithful to Jesus Christ.

Verse 7 is confusing. It can be taken to mean that God created a first covenant with faults that need correcting in a new covenant. However, if we add the context of the preceding verses and check with Jeremiah 31 (which the letter to the Hebrews is building on), we see something quite different.

We use verses from Jeremiah (31:31-34) in every Methodist Covenant service and it reminds us that the covenants with God are unequal partnerships. On one side, is God, who is always faithful, trustworthy and consistent. On the other side is humanity, which consistently fails to be those things.

An example of our failures is the consistent messaging by Christians that the second covenant (Jesus) was needed, because the Jews had failed. It ignores the elephant in the room, which is how much bigger the failure is when Christians fail to keep either covenant. If we believe the covenant with God brought in by Jesus is perfect for all time then we are far bigger failures when we don't keep to it.

Instead, isn't the key message not about failure but about hope? Despite all our failures, God never gives up on us. More than that, God doesn't hold our failures against us – because of Jesus.

In this passage we have the perfect response to everything that fills us with despair from the news (wars, corruption, injustice and climate disasters). It offers hope instead of blame. God lifts us up to be partners rather than blaming and rejecting us.

The next big challenge (as if it isn't already a big enough challenge to address centuries of anti-Semitism based on accusing the Jews of failing the first covenant while we fail the second) is to reach out to the world in the same way as God reaches out to us. We are challenged to offer hope not blame, and to be willing not to hold failures against people but instead to seek to work together for the future. This is not 'forgive and forget' but honestly calling out failure and then becoming willing to welcome, include and work together. It is an offer to work together for rehabilitation, restoration and renewal.

To Ponder:

• The news is full of failures around Israelis and Palestinians. How might this passage influence the way we seek justice and renewal for all?
• How does our personal practice fit with moving from blame to renewal?

Bible notes author: The Revd Dave Warnock
Dave is a Methodist minister without an appointment. After much DIY, he and his wife Jane have now launched their 1977 sailing boat and are building up to sailing around the world as sustainably as possible. Their intention is to model sustainable living and help encourage connections between sustainability and faith. They also want to see sailing have a positive impact on vulnerable coastal communities. For more information, see their blog and YouTube channel