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
Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes of the emotional experience of the truth and reconciliation process. The formerly powerful agents of the state wept as they confronted their guilt in the slaughter of innocents whose only fault was their color. The victims’ families wept as they told their stories and as they forgave their persecutors. When deep justice happens, tears can be expected. So Joel calls upon the ministers of the Lord to weep. Not so much to gain God’s mercy as to greet God’s clemency. We need not worry that this God will make God’s heritage a mockery. “Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, God relents from punishing” (Joel 2:13). The hymn promises “Come to me distressed and needy: I would be your trusted friend. Come and seek the gift I offer, come your open hands extend … ”
Prayer
“Jesus, ever flowing fountain, give us water from your well.” Amen.