It has been an ancient practice to inscribe someone’s name on a stone. Nowadays, we see donors' names inscribed on walls of buildings or bricks on donor/benefactor paths.  If you visit any war memorial, you will see the names of those whose lives were lost at war. On a more personal level, we see people tattooing the names of their loved ones on their bodies.  

But in contrast to all these, God wants to inscribe or tattoo his law on human hearts. It is a law of love, a law of forgiveness and a law of compassion. Through love and care, God wants to make a new covenant with the people of Israel.  

However, there is a twist in why God writes this new covenant because these same people had broken previous covenants with God. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” God will not abandon us even when we turn away from God. Instead, God offers us a new beginning, a fresh start.  

Based on this, how often do we count others’ mistakes? How many people have we avoided because they hurt us?  Who among us can readily say to someone who is constantly hurting us, “It is okay; let us have a fresh start”?

Love and care bring forth forgiveness. God calls us to forgive and forget. Forgiveness is easy for us, but forgetting is another story. But God demands that we do both. In God, there is no compromise. God is fully open to new beginnings. God cleans everything and rewrites. God leaves no residual when He erases.  Many of us use computers. We save documents and files in hard drives or flash drives. When we don’t need that file anymore, we hit delete. In some ways, our hearts are like computers and at times, we store good and bad memories. Why are we so afraid to hit the delete button of hurt and guilt from our hearts and minds? Are we afraid of a new start or a new beginning?  

The new covenant that has been written in our hearts is a law of love and care, not hate and punishment. Looking at the world today, we see immense suffering, death and destruction through war and violence, great polarizations, nationalism, genocide and xenophobia, to name but a few. How can we who know God continue to allow dehumanization, dispossession, oppression and exploitation of sections of populations such as the Palestinians, indigenous peoples, refugees and migrants? How can we, in the 21st century, still embrace the politics of racism and discrimination, imperialism, war and militarism?

Do we love and care enough to speak up against the injustices we see in our society?

Do we use the power Jesus bestows on us as his servants? For “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” When we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, we are challenged to lead lives full of love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness because God’s covenant is written in our hearts. May Jesus give us the strength for a Fresh Start.