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Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 CEB Blow the horn in Zion; give a shout on my holy mountain! Let all the people of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is near-- a day of darkness and no light, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread out upon the mountains, a great and powerful army comes, unlike any that has ever come before them, or will come after them in centuries ahead. Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. Who knows whether he will have a change of heart and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? Blow the horn in Zion; demand a fast; request a special assembly. Gather the people; prepare a holy meeting; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the groom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep. Let them say, “Have mercy, Lord, on your people, and don’t make your inheritance a disgrace, an example of failure among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” How much room is there in your life today? How full is your plate? Not just of things you need to do, but all the things that clutter your mental space. Are you full up today? Lent is for you. Are you worried about the future? Are you anxious that the human race is rushing forward, heading for heck in a handbasket? Lent is for you. Do you find yourself held back by all the things you have done? Are you hampered, weighed down, and crushed under sin without much hope for some change in your condition? Lent is for you. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this season of Lent, and it is a time when we are invited to commit everything that crowds, overwhelms, and chokes us to the dust of the ground. We are invited to decrease ourselves so that God may increase, to sacrifice so we may fully experience God.
Normally, we think of some indulgence to give up during this season. We will give up chocolate or alcohol, or maybe we’ll eat out a little less. Maybe our Lenten sacrifice could be giving up our couch potato habits and riding a bike! Normally, we think about giving up some extra in our lives because we have decided it might really be a want rather than a need. How about giving up some of the things we’re pretty sure we need, though? What about that monthly calendar, full of meetings and appointments, those “have-tos” and “must-dos” that crowd out much time for much else? What about the anxieties and fears that have mastered us, determining for us how we act and react in every situation? What about the self-shaming we do? Those times we think we don’t amount to much, so we cannot really do anything, certainly nothing worthwhile. We are so sure that these are true and essential to who we are that we cannot fathom giving these up! Here comes the prophet Joel then, with his doom and gloom on the horizon, as he speaks about the coming of the Day of the Lord with powerful armies and darkness threatening to overwhelm the people of Israel. If this were a movie, this would be the scene where the heroes look on helplessly as the villains seem poised to win it all, and where the only thing that could save the day is a miracle! The miracle, exclaims Joel, is that “even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts.” Even now, even when all these things that hold you down and hold you back seem poised to be permanent residents in your hearts and minds, you can still shake them off! You can still turn things around by turning back to God. That’s the power of that word, “return,” as it “expresses turning around and repentance.”[1] Your life– your heart and mind– can still be redirected into taking a new course! Fast– starve them out! Do not give them a further inch or they will take a mile! Here is the time, during this Lenten season, to turn them to dust! It will not be easy, you will be sad to see them go. These fears were a comfort. Your sins, while bad, were at least yours, you had gotten rather friendly with the demons you knew. A life without them, a life free, that’s the scary part! Wouldn’t God just be happier if we gave up candy, coffee, or another beer instead? Couldn’t we just agree, the divine and us, to not go to another movie and just give that money to charity? That will make us square, right? Except, are these really the things holding us back from God? Is it really that easy? Just a couple fewer indulgences mean a few more Bible readings and we’re good to go, that’s really all it takes? We have this time of year to let go of the things that truly hold us back from God. All the insecurities, worries, fears, and failings that keep us from really seeing and experiencing God. Joel tells us that God is right there, inviting us to return and redirect away from everything else that has captured our lives and laid claim to our hearts. Joel declares that God “is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.” God does not care whether you give up meat or butter or sugar or this vice or another. God wants you to give up the things there in the back of your mind that are whispering, “Yeah right, I will pray or fast when eventually I find the time!” God demands the sacrifice of the voice that cries out, “If God really knew this about you, the Lord wouldn’t want you at all!” God says to give over to dust and ash the slithering insinuating whine that tells you, “You are not really good enough to do this.” Lent is the time to turn away from these and turn toward God, the one who loves you and sees the good creation you are. This Lent, God is making space at the table. God is seeking you– yes, you– to come and join the divine at the feast, where you are not only welcomed, but this meal is in your honor. All of us, from the eldest to the youngest are called here to this place, to share in giving up all the falsehoods that hold us back. We are called to fast, knowing that our God is infinitely merciful, ready to love us, not just in name but in action. God does not demand the decrease of his children but the decrease of all the junk that keeps us from receiving the blessings of our divine Lord. My invitation to us all during this time is to see what we need to do to truly give up the things that hold us up, back, and down. What do we need to delete from our calendars? What do we need to clear from our mental spaces? What do we need to confront and overcome to be the people God has graciously called us all to be? My friends, have no doubt, you are welcome here. You are invited to be here. This place has been made just for you, and for your neighbor too. Make room! Make room this Lent! Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming to meet us, so do not delay! Meet and experience the goodness of God, so that we may find release from the death-dealing ways of the old and embrace new life ahead! Amen. [1] Donald Ernest Burke, “Joel” in Wesley One Volume Commentary, eds. Kenneth J. Collins and Robert W. Wall (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020), 509-513.
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