Joel 2:1-2; 12-17 (NRSV)
Read Joel 2:1-2; 12-17 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 2Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near- Verse 2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
Verse 12Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; Verse 13rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Verse 14Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? Verse 15Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; Verse 16gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. Verse 17Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, "Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
Devotion
Like the Israelites in Joel's theme, sometimes our confessions beg for sacrifice. Not for God's sake but for ours, we are compelled to make amends. The problem, of course, is that we have no adequate offering to make up for our sin. We can declare a fast as complete as that in Nineveh. Yet it is not sufficient. Only Christ's offering is adequate to meet the need. We keep Lent entirely out of gratitude for that gift.
Prayer
O Lord, forgive our simple fasts and focus us instead on the wonder of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Amen.