“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart… Rend you heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…” Joel 2:12-13 (The Old Testament lesson for Ash Wednesday)
While the prophet Isaiah warned of the coming Assyrians and Jeremiah of the Babylonians, in the reading for Ash Wednesday, Joel warns of an approaching army of locusts. What a terrifying picture he paints of these invading insects!
What terrifies you these days? Is it something with your health? Is it the economy? War? Are you terrified of terrorism itself? Some evenings lately I’ve dropped down in my chair after a really fulfilling and joyful day at school, and five minutes into the newscast, I find my heart racing as I listen to the day’s bad news. One market analyst last week suggested that the media may be more to blame for our economic fears than anyone because of the fear and anxiety they spread on a daily basis.
I thought that perhaps the analyst was correct at first…until I listened to that evening’s news and heard some Democrats blaming Republicans and then some Republicans blaming the President. One guy even blamed the President’s Blackberry because he said a Blackberry prevents people from giving their full attention to important things, too many interruptions.
So who really is to blame? Well, to start with, I am. For whatever I listed above, I am to blame. One commentator recently said it was greed that caused our recent economic problems, and for a short time I thought that at least I wasn’t responsible for the bad economy because I don’t feel I’m a greedy person. But upon further reflection, I’ve concluded that although I may not feel greedy, unless I am totally without sin…I really can’t claim innocence here either.
Whatever is coming our way, be it bad weather, the Assyrians, terrorists, the economy, I am sure that it is a result of sin in our world…and I am a sinner, so I share in the blame.
But Lent is a time of “even now” – even at this late date, even after all I’ve done wrong and all my sin… “Even now” God calls me to himself, to repent of the wrong that I have done and, for Jesus’ sake, to ask for and receive his forgiveness.
Lots of talk about “bailouts” these days. Here is a one question quiz for you: “What is the biggest bailout in history?”
“Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 1 Corinthians 5:20-21 (The Epistle lesson for Ash Wednesday)