Sanctify a Fast
Joel 2
Blow 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—
2 a 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.
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—
2 a 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.
[3 Fire devours in front of them,
and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
but after them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses,
and like warhorses they charge.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish,
all faces grow pale.*
7 Like warriors they charge,
like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
they do not swerve from* their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another,
each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them,
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The Lord utters his voice
at the head of his army;
how vast is his host!
Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the Lord is great;
terrible indeed—who can endure it?]
12 Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
14 Who 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?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather 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.
17 Between 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?” ’
Joel, the prophet’s name, is two parts of the Divinity’s name. JO for Jahweh, Yahweh, Jehovah; EL for Elohim. So the name Joel means “Jahweh is God.” Jahweh (YHWH) is usually rendered “The Lord,” so The Lord is God. Adonai is God.
In the portion appointed for Ash Wednesday, (2:1-2, 12-17) Joel prophesies such a devastating visitation of ravenous, destroying locusts as has never been seen. Together with famine, land and people will be brought down to bitter misery. Joel is not clear whether these will be biological locusts or apocalyptic locusts, but the calamity may yet be prevented if the people turn from selfish sins and return to the Lord. Sanctify a fast.
The Lenten fast means “giving up” something. Chocolate? Cigarettes? Sugar in the coffee? Ice cream? Soda pop? Lose five pounds? Walk a mile a day? Movies? Nonessential TV? If whatever is “given up” is unhealthy anyway (e.g., not walking), the Lenten discipline should be to cultivate a new practice that permanently rids oneself of a bad habit. Giving up not walking, by Easter one could be walking a mile a day.
The idea is self-discipline. In my childhood it meant daily putting a coin in a “mite box” to be turned in Easter Day for a worthy cause. A penny, nickel or dime a day yielded a heavy mite box on Easter morning. But Lent is a time for confession: my shamefully rattling mite box with three coins told of starting with good intentions of a holy Lent, concluded Easter morning by stuffing in a dollar bill on the way to church.
At my age, give up something especially valuable: time. Clean out the attic and take usable items to the Salvation Army. A Lenten reading discipline. Ten extra minutes a day on the treadmill.
One slice of breakfast toast instead of two: 40 calories.
TW+