The date was March 12, 1933. Almost exactly 70 years ago. America tuned into Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first "Fireside Chat."

It came only eight days after his inauguration, and what a bold move it was. Until that point, presidents had rarely, if ever, addressed the American people in such a direct and intimate way. Roosevelt took to the airwaves to let the people know how the country was doing in the midst of the Great Depression, and millions gathered around their radios to listen in. By speaking to his audience as his "friends," he reached the average citizen with a tone of sincere concern.

The subject of that first chat was banking. FDR explained to the country in simple terms why so many banks had failed and why he had decided to close them down on March 6, creating an extended "bank holiday." He then described the measures that Congress was taking to make sure that a banking crisis would never happen again.

The President ended his talk by asking Americans to show confidence in their government by depositing money in their local banks when they reopened the next day.

Miraculously, they did just that. Many who listened to the talk trusted Roosevelt, and put their money in the banks. A crisis was averted. ("America Tunes into FDR's First 'Fireside Chat,'" New Deal Network, http://newdeal.feri.org/timeline/1933f.htm. Retrieved September 23, 2002) FDR had run for president promising a "new deal for the American people," and he was determined to deliver on his pledge. The sincerity and compassion he communicated over the radio convinced many that he would give them a New Deal, one that would help them through their time of need. Through these chats, he persuasively explained his administration's policies to a vast national radio audience, and over time he was able to introduce New Deal programs such as social security and unemployment insurance, price supports for farmers and a minimum wage for workers, insurance for bank deposits and regulation of the stock market. ("The Importance of FDR," Roosevelt Campobello International Park Website, http://www.fdr.net/importan.htm. Retrieved September 23, 2002)

It was revolutionary, and it worked. But of course, President Roosevelt's New Deal was not the first.

Thousands of years earlier, God delivered a fresh deal through the words of the prophet Jeremiah. Speaking with the kind of clarity and compassion made famous by FDR, the Lord promised to "make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors .... But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:31-33). What boldness. What intimacy. What sincerity. What creativity in covenant-making.

What a New Deal!

No one could have guessed how well FDR's Fireside Chats would be received, or predicted that he would end up delivering 31 of them over the 12 years of his presidency. At the same time, no one would have envisioned that these radio addresses would help to create a new kind of conversation between FDR and the American people, and that this new level of intimacy would shape the modern presidency.

But that's exactly what they did. Every chief executive since Roosevelt has followed this path, and made a direct connection with the citizens of the United States. George W. Bush has been doing it through addresses from the Oval Office, as our nation has moved into war with Iraq.

Jeremiah probably thought about the intimacy of this relationship when he received his word from the Lord. I will make "a new covenant," says the Lord ... I will put my law within them ... I will be their God, and they shall be my people ... They shall all know me, directly, from the least of them to the greatest ... "for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more" (v. 34).

What a deal: God's law is now within us ... an intimate relationship exists between God and his people ... each of us is given forgiveness of sin. This is truly a New Deal that can save us from despair. It's a new relationship that can help us through our time of need, whether we are facing cancer … or confusion … or terrorism … or temptation.

When God acts, we just can never predict how he'll choose to help us. He is always doing new things, trying new approaches, creating new covenants, working new angles, making new deals. The people of Israel were no doubt surprised to hear this particular word from Jeremiah, because they ALREADY had a covenant with God. They had a very fine relationship, based on the teachings of the religious law, and so they never would have expected God to make a NEW deal with them, a deal that would change their relationship with him forever.

But here it comes, ready or not: A new covenant, one that involves a new heart. In this New Deal, God promises to move from old styles of teaching and learning to a fresh new approach: One in which the law of God is written on human hearts, one in which God is a close to us as a husband is to a wife. A chapter later, God promises to give his people "one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing good to them" (32:38-41).

I will rejoice in doing good to them. If you are accustomed to a harsh and vengeful and punishing God, that's an amazing and refreshing piece of good news!

Our God is the Lord of the New Deal: The new covenant, the new relationship. He is not interested in repeating the past, but in creating new possibilities for the future. He makes new deals when the old deals are broken -- new covenants in which his law is written within us, written on our hearts. And he comes to us most powerfully and intimately in his Son Jesus Christ, the one who offers us forgiveness though another New Deal: The new covenant in his blood.

Think of how surprised the disciples were when they gathered to celebrate the Passover Meal with Jesus in Jerusalem. Probably about as shocked as the American people were on March 12, 1933, when they turned on their radios and discovered that the President of the United States of America was suddenly talking to them in their living rooms. In both cases, a powerful leader came down from on high and delivered a New Deal in the words and the actions of a close and caring friend.

On the night of his betrayal, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." The cup signified a new covenant with his followers, a New Deal that brought forgiveness of sins, as well as a deep, personal, and intimate relationship.

Jesus broke bread and poured a cup, and asked his followers to do the same, in remembrance of him. He instituted a sacrament so that we would be able to experience his presence every time we gather to eat and drink at the Communion table. Jesus took a simple meal and made it holy; he took basic bread and wine and made them visible signs of his invisible presence; he made a new covenant with his followers, cut a New Deal that would define their relationship for the rest of human history.

What a gift this is, given by the God who desires intimacy with his people, in every time and place. I hope that many of you will join together to celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Maundy Thursday, April 17th. We will gather with our neighbors at Providence Presbyterian Church, hear a message by Carrie Yearick, and then receive Communion together, remembering the night in which Jesus ate his Last Supper with his disciples.

Now I have to admit that the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not enjoy universal success during the years of the Great Depression -- some of his programs took off and achieved great things, while others crashed and burned. But the covenant being offered by God is one that delivers only positive benefits, and it is available to anyone who desires to grow closer to him.

Our God is the Lord of the New Deal: The new covenant, the new relationship. Through the gift of his law in our hearts, God promises to be with us forever. Through the gift of his only Son Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and reconciled. Through the gift of the New Deal, we have a new relationship with God, and a new relationship with one another, as brothers and sisters who can sit together at the Communion table and experience the power and presence of our Living Savior Jesus.

We can gather as one people, at the dinner table. Loved, forgiven, and intimately connected.

There's no better deal than that. Amen.

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