Is God’s love expansive or needy?
by Lia Scholl
Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
For Sunday, March 25, 2012: Year B—Lent 5
Abraham Joshua Heschel, in The Prophets, writes, “It was in love that God and Israel met.” Our passage today is a perfect example of the relentless and pursuing love of God.
Or, as some believe, the sign of God’s relentless lack of boundaries.
When a spouse is unfaithful to his or her spouse, over and over again, should the injured spouse continue to pursue the adulterer? I hear, in my mind, the countless number of women I’ve counseled who are dating or married to men who are abusive and unfaithful. “But I loooove him!”
Does love abide? And should it?
Should Love Abide?
Israel and God have a covenantal relationship, much like marriage. God brings to the negotiating table love, land, independence from other political entities, and a way of being in the world that would set Israel apart. Israel has expectations from God. Israel expects love, land, independence from other political entities, but also wealth, the death of their enemies, abundance, and milk and honey. Israel is to bring to the contractual relationship their faithfulness, compliance, and generosity towards God. God expects that the people of Israel will obey God’s commands, follow God’s law, and serve only God.
Israel has turned away from God, and they are worshipping idols and false gods. In addition, Israel is not doing the things that make Israel special—they are not treating the foreigners with kindness, they are not caring for the widows and orphans. Jeremiah clearly thinks that Israel is a bad spouse.
Marriage Is Hard.
Let’s face it. Marriage is hard.
And all of us have heard about spouses that care more about themselves than they do about their partner. There’s the husband who cheats because it feels good in the moment. There’s the wife who spends irresponsibly, because her immediate wants are more important than anything else.
It’s really difficult to put your spouse’s needs and wants ahead of your own. Over and over again, Israel takes care of Israel’s needs. Leaving God as the spouse whose job it is to satisfy Israel. There’s no partnership here.
But why would God continue to pursue this unfaithful spouse?
Jeremiah’s Message
In some way, Jeremiah’s job is to set the boundaries for Israel. Jeremiah is saying to Israel, “Because you acted as you did, God is negating the current covenant.” But instead of divorce, God is looking for a reconciliation.
When God talks about putting the law on the people’s hearts, do you think God is talking about winning the love of Israel? Do you think that maybe God is going to woo Israel? Make Israel fall in love with God so much that Israel can’t be unfaithful, because Israel is so full of love?
Marriage is about making a choice, everyday, to do the right thing by your spouse, because you’re motivated by love. Not only the passion of love, but also the steadfast action of love. Is that what the new covenant will be?
With humans, the love of God would seem more like neediness and desperation. But God’s love isn’t like our love. From God, this love is noble, expansive and boundless. That’s not the same as boundary-less.
The Hardest Question
If you were God, would you try again with Israel?
Rev. Lia Scholl serves as pastor at the Richmond Mennonite Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia and is a sex work ally, a Board member at the Red Umbrella Project. Her book, I <3 Sex Workers, is due out in Spring 2012. She blogs at http://roguereverend.com and you can find her at http://twitter.com/roguereverend.
