A Short Reflection on St. Irenaeus's The Covenant of the Lord
From the Treatise "Against Heresies"
In today’s Office of Readings, St. Irenaeus reflects on the Covenant of the Lord. He delves into the dynamics between God and humanity, especially through the lens of the Old and New Testament covenants. As always, he offers an insightful perspective on the contrast between the inherent righteousness of the patriarchs and the necessity for the Mosaic Law among their descendants, the Israelites.
St. Irenaeus begins by underscoring the fact that the covenant at Horeb was made not with the patriarchs but with the Israelites. This is significant because it illustrates that the patriarchs lived by a law of the heart that reflected a direct, unmediated relationship with God, marked by fairness and love. This connection was lost during the Israelites’ time in Egypt, necessitating a different approach from God. The Law, as given to Moses, was not merely a set of rules but a divine intervention to guide the people back to a loving relationship with God, a relationship they had strayed from due to their sins. May we always remember that everything pertaining to God is about love.
Here, the role of Jesus Christ becomes central. Christ, often seen as the new Moses, not only fulfilled the Law but lived it perfectly. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus states, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." This assertion underscores that Christ embodied the Law's ultimate purpose and perfection. By living a life in perfect accordance with God's commandments, Christ demonstrated the true intent of the Law – a blueprint for a righteous life, leading to a deep, personal relationship with the Father.1
Through His death and resurrection, Christ fulfilled the Law in a way that went beyond the mere adherence to rules; He transformed it from a set of external requirements into a matter of the heart, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy: "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). In doing so, Jesus abolished the Law's power to condemn and replaced it with the grace of the New Covenant, opening the path for all to enter into a direct relationship with God.
Jesus is the true bridge between humanity and God. He not only serves as the new Moses, leading His people to the promised land of eternal life, but embodies the Law's fulfillment. In Him, the Law is not abolished but completed, its deepest intentions realized and made accessible to all through faith.
St. Irenaeus's invite us to see the Law from this redemptive perspective. The Law is not a burden but a guide, pointing us to the life and teachings of Jesus, the perfect Lawgiver and Fulfiller. In Christ, we find the ultimate model of righteousness—a righteousness that is not about strict adherence to rules but about living in harmony with God’s will, leading us to a profound, loving relationship with the Father, just as the patriarchs did, but now accessible to all through the grace of the New Covenant.
The Covenant of the Lord
From the Treatise ‘Against Heresies’
In the book of Deuteronomy Moses says to the people: The Lord your God made a covenant on Horeb; he made this covenant, not with your fathers but with you. Why did God not make this covenant with their fathers? Because the law is not aimed at the righteous. Their fathers were righteous: they had the power of the Decalogue implanted in their hearts and in their souls. That is, they loved the God who made them and did nothing unjust against their neighbor. For this reason they did not need to be admonished by written rebukes: they had the righteousness of the law in their hearts.
When this righteousness and love for God had passed into oblivion and had been extinguished in Egypt, God had necessarily to reveal himself through his own voice, out of his great love for men. He led the people out of Egypt in power, so that man might once again become God’s disciple and follower. He made them afraid as they listened, to warn them not to hold their Creator in contempt.
He fed them with manna, that they might receive spiritual food. In the book of Deuteronomy Moses says: He fed you with manna, which your fathers did not know, that you might understand that man will not live by bread alone but by every word of God coming from the mouth of God.
He commanded them to love himself and trained them to practice righteousness towards their neighbor, so that man might not be unrighteous or unworthy of God. Through the Decalogue he prepared man for friendship with himself and for harmony with his neighbor. This was to man’s advantage, though God needed nothing from man.
This raised man to glory, for it gave him what he did not have, friendship with God. But it brought no advantage to God, for God did not need man’s love. Man did not possess the glory of God, nor could he attain it by any other means than through obedience to God. This is why Moses said to the people: Choose life, that you may live and your descendants too; love the Lord your God, hear his voice and hold fast to him, for this is life for you and length of days.
This was the life that the Lord was preparing man to receive when he spoke in person and gave the words of the Decalogue for all alike to hear. These words remain with us as well; they were extended and amplified through his coming in the flesh, but not annulled.
God gave to the people separately through Moses the commandments that enslave: these were precepts suited to their instruction or their condemnation. As Moses said: The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you precepts of righteousness and of judgement. The precepts that were given them to enslave and to serve as a warning have been cancelled by the new covenant of freedom. The precepts that belong to man’s nature and to freedom and to all alike have been enlarged and broadened. Through the adoption of sons God has enabled man so generously and bountifully to know him as Father, to love him with his whole heart, and to follow his Word unfailingly.
Today’s Mass Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, purifying us by the sacred practice of penance, you may lead us in sincerity of heart to attain the holy things to come.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
St. Irenaeus, in his work "Against Heresies," presents a typological interpretation where he juxtaposes Old Testament figures with New Testament fulfillment, notably portraying Jesus as the "New Moses" and Mary as the "New Eve." For Irenaeus, Jesus embodies the new Moses not merely by delivering the law but by fulfilling and embodying it through His teachings, life, death, and resurrection, thus leading humanity from the bondage of sin to the promised land of salvation. In parallel, St. Irenaeus casts Mary as the New Eve, drawing a contrast between Eve's disobedience and Mary's obedience. Where Eve's choice led to death entering the world, Mary's fiat, or affirmative response to the angel Gabriel, paves the way for life through the birth of Christ. For Irenaeus, these figures do not stand alone but are integral in the divine plan of salvation, illustrating the continuity and fulfillment of God's promise through the New Covenant.