The prophet Joel is classified as one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, but his call to repentance is anything but minor. Joel speaks to a set of people who have long strayed from the mercies of God to forge their own destinies with apostate rulers and kings.
Joel speaks of an impending Day of the Lord as a day when disaster will come upon the land of Judah. No one can conclusively speak to the era of Joel’s ministries but most agree it was before the Captivity of Jerusalem by the Babylonians starting in 586 BC.
He asks the people of Judah to see the current time as the acceptable time to return to the Lord. He speaks of God’s mercies and steadfastness and in the meantime gives us instructions on how to do so in today’s reading.
As Christians, we live in the duality of living in the world but not of the world. We struggle daily with the dichotomy of the kingdom of earth and the kingdom of God. Yet, we are assured throughout the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, that our future, our lives, rest in the presence of the Lord and the coming day of the Lord will surely be a day of rejoicing and gladness for all of us. However, as we struggle, we stray just like the Judeans of Joel’s time and need to be reminded repeatedly to return to the Lord.
Let this day, Ash Wednesday, be a day when we remember our humble beginning as ashes and our humble impending return to ashes so that we return to the Lord. Returning to the Lord is not a one-time event reserved for Lent but an everyday decision and struggle. Let this day be a whole new beginning for you as you take this season of Lent to return to the Lord for now is the acceptable time of the Lord.
As we return to the Lord, let us always know of the words of Joel, “for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.”
Prayer: Open our hearts and our minds to see that our path to you is always open and welcome us even when we have strayed from your boundless love and grace. Amen.
