Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday February 21, 2007
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (TNIV)
An Army of Locusts
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.
Rend Your Heart
12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart mn and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, "Spare your people, LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "

At first glance, this sounds like a pretty dark passage: “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” is coming. These are the words of the prophet Joel, who lived many years before Jesus was ever born. Joel proclaimed a word from God, that the “day of the LORD” is coming, and it does not sound like that will be a good day, at least for those who have not repented and turned to God.
BUT, this passage does not leave us in despair and without hope. In verse 13 Joel tells us that God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” God is indeed good and faithful, even as or perhaps because he has wrath against sin.
So what are we to do? The prophet Joel tells us to gather together, to consecrate or cleanse ourselves. Everyone, young and old, male and female, even people in the midst of celebration are to come. And we are to “declare a holy fast.” What does this mean?
Fasting is a spiritual activity that, honestly, we do not really like to do. It may be because it involves so much sacrifice and unselfishness on our parts. Fasting is about not depending on our luxuries but depending solely on God. When we fast, we give up a favorite food or activity in order to focus ourselves more on God. We do not give up food in order to lose weight or to brag about how we are doing a good job not eating it. Rather, we give up a particular food to remind us that God is the one who gives us life. We remind ourselves that soft drinks are a luxury and we can survive without them because our true life comes from God. Or we might give up an activity like watching TV or playing on the internet and make more time to pray to God or read the Bible. Could we give up MySpace completely?
The forty days prior to Easter Sunday are called “LENT.” Traditionally, followers of Jesus have fasted during Lent. People might give up a meal, meat, desserts, any drink besides water, or people might stop smoking, watching TV, or listening to music that they know is not good for them.

Will you join in this community fast? Will you fast not because of tradition, but because God asks it of you?
Will you remember that true life comes from God, and not from all our luxuries?