Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
1Blow 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— 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. 12Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 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. 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? 15Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 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. 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?’” ___________________________________
Let me say it right here at the beginning: I’m thinking Lent is, for many, not one of our favorite seasons. Christmas; check. Thanksgiving; check. 4th of July and summer; check. But Lent? Think about it. No one has been crossing off days on the calendar leading up to today. Are little kids going to be asking their parents, “how much longer until Lent is here?”! No wonder that each year fewer and fewer churches observe the season. “Who needs Lent, anyway?”
And, in spite of our feelings, every year the same answer comes whispering back. “I do. I need Lent.” I believe we all need a time, an opportunity, to focus once again on the maker of all things, on just how far God will go to show us that we are loved and valued, even to the point of dying on the cross. So maybe; just maybe Lent is God’s gift to a people starved for courage, for comfort, for life.
And so you are invited this Ash Wednesday, and through the whole season of Lent, to intentionally turn to God who has so graciously turned to us in Jesus Christ. And in so doing, to once again rediscover the faith, the peace, the hope and the courage, that each of us so desperately needs. A blessed Lent to us all!
Prayer: Gracious God, as I start down this Lenten path—this path of promise, of hope, and of refreshment, walk with me step-by-step. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
—Pastor Mark Nelson