They were solemn moments. Perhaps even confusing moments. The Passover meal had been prepared according to Jesus' instructions. After they ate the meal, Jesus turned to his Twelve Apostles with startling words: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20 NRSV). “New covenant in my blood.” Jarring words!

The disciples were no strangers to the notion of covenant. It was in their communal DNA. God covenanted to bless the nations of the world through Abraham and Sarah (see Genesis 12:1-3). The first steps toward Israel's freedom began when “God remembered his covenant” (Exodus 2:24). Israel's identity as a “holy nation” was tied to its willingness to keep God's covenant (Exodus 19:5-6). And when Israel failed to be faithful to that covenant, the prophetic hope grew for a “new covenant,” written not on tablets of stone but on the hearts of God's people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Israel was not God's client, nor was God Israel's consumer choice. Their relationship was covenantal, not contractual.

“New covenant in my blood.” The leaders who gathered around the Passover meal probably didn't realize it, but they had already experienced covenantal dimensions in their relationship with Jesus. He initiated their calling on the shores of Galilee. He promised to make them fishers of people. When they failed to understand his identity as Messiah, he waited patiently. When they didn't understand his teaching about suffering, death and resurrection, he didn't give up on them. When arguments developed about which of them should be on the podium, he smiled and placed a child before them. Despite their failings, he was loyal to them. And there was learning within this relationship: as Jesus approached the hour of his death, he turned to these same inconsistent leaders and said, “You are those who have stood by me in my trials” (Luke 22:28). Now his covenant would be expressed by his sacrificial love on the cross: “In my blood.”

While valuing the role of contracts, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in The House We Build Together argues for a renewed look at the biblical notion of covenant: “Contracts are agreements entered into for mutual advantage. They are undertaken by individuals or groups on the basis of self-interest. They have specific purposes. They can be terminated by mutual consent. They end once both parties have fulfilled their obligations. By contrast, covenants are moral commitments, and they are open-ended. They are sustained not by letter of law or by self-interest but by loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness.”

This month, a company of men and women will enter a covenantal relationship with The Salvation Army. They will be commissioned and ordained as officers of this international Army. An officer's covenant begins with the words: “Called by Almighty God to proclaim the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as an officer of The Salvation Army, I give myself to God, and here and now bind myself to him in a solemn covenant….” Officers intentionally express covenant loyalty to God through The Salvation Army.

An officer's covenant is made with The Salvation Army but looks beyond it. These new officers will soon spread out across this vast territory of Canada and Bermuda. In time, some may even find themselves in other parts of the world. Through their loyalty to this expression of the Church, they seek to build the society in which we live. They will grieve with those who suffer loss; they will encourage young people on the basketball court; they will advocate for the poor at city hall. They will do this, and more, because of their covenants.

As officers, we understand that many others covenant with the Army. And we recognize that we often fail in our responsibilities. But we do seek to be loyal to the Army's story, its deepest convictions, its symbols and its organizational policies. This is not an unquestioning loyalty; otherwise we would simply parrot the past and we would fail to “serve the present age.” Officers seek to be faithful to the ongoing work of God's grace through the Army to the wider world. And that is a covenantal work.

God's covenant with humanity is defined by the cross of Jesus: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” It is a covenant initiated by God the Father, embodied by God the Son and empowered by God the Holy Spirit. God's covenant expresses God's triune life. May the God of covenantal love grant us all his grace to live covenantally, and so build our world together.

Major Ray Harris is a retired Salvation Army officer. He enjoys watching Corner Gas reruns and running in Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park.