Joel 1:12-19
Luke 15:1-10
God must not have taken the same Intro to Economics class that I did in college, or maybe I just paid less attention than I thought. Either way God demonstrates a lavishness of forgiveness and salvation that defies human understanding. After spending the opening verses condemning God’s people for their waywardness, the book of Joel suddenly veers in a new direction. “(God) is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abiding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing…” (Joel 2:15). “I am sending you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied,” says the Lord (v. 19). If the people will simply return to God they will find all they need provided by God’s hand.
But the lavishness really becomes clear in the gospel account for today. There Jesus tells us of a shepherd who is willing to leave 99 perfectly good sheep to go look for one who is lost (Luke 15:3-7). What a crazy idea! I’ve been told by “real” shepherds that losing 6 or 8% of a flock in a year is not unusual, not with illness, age, predators, and so forth. So who risks 99 sheep to save one? Only God would take that kind of risk, would lavish that kind of salvation.
For many of us in the church this is stewardship season, the time of year when financial pledges are made and budgets are drafted. Perhaps, then, this is a good time to reflect on the lengths to which God is willing to go on our behalf before we determine what our commitment will be to God and the work of the church. Don’t expect God’s side of the ledger to add up, at least not in human terms. But while God is pouring out grain and oil and wine, and while the Good Shepherd is refusing to lose even one sheep out of 100, maybe we should strive to live more in accordance with God’s economics and less with what the world considers appropriate. I’m sure the one sheep would agree.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us our sins and our shortcomings and help us to live lives of generosity. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Showing posts with label Joel 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joel 2. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Too Much Noise?
Joel 2:3-11
Revelation 19:1-10
There is a deafening roar rising from both Joel and Revelation today, but the sources of the sound are very different. In Joel a plague of locusts infests the land “as with the rumble of chariots,” “ and the crackling of a flame of fire,” causing the earth to quake and the heavens to tremble (Joel 2:5, 10). “Who can endure (such an onslaught)?” asks the prophet (v. 11). This is the day of the Lord, and it is terrible. In Revelation, however, the sound is very different. “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a multitude, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns’” (Revelation 19:6).
The very loudest experience that I’ve had in my life was a rock concert I attended in 1985. My ears were ringing well into the next day. It was at a volume well beyond my comfort level. That sort of noise makes sense when we are talking about the passage from Joel, where comfort is far from the issue. But what about Revelation? There the sound grows out of praise, not judgment, yet it would seem to be just as loud. What then are we to say about these things? Frankly, I’m not entirely sure of what to make of all this noise except to say that perhaps praising God is outside the normal comfort level of humanity, too. After all, this was John’s experience there on the Island of Patmos, a living human being’s vision of the end times. In our current condition we are incapable of relating to God as we should, and the experience of God’s praise is bound to be as physically jarring as oceans and thunderpeals.
Clearly, God is someone we can never get entirely comfortable with––and certainly not someone we can control. Ever since Adam and Eve hid themselves in the Garden of Eden we’ve been ill at ease in the presence of our Creator. The good news is that God appears to be willing to remain in covenant with us, delivering judgment to be sure, but also accepting our feeble praise. And as long as God is with us, then I believe we will be able to handle being with God.
Prayer: O God, we thank you for your continual presence in our midst. May we learn to offer you praise and to live according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Revelation 19:1-10
There is a deafening roar rising from both Joel and Revelation today, but the sources of the sound are very different. In Joel a plague of locusts infests the land “as with the rumble of chariots,” “ and the crackling of a flame of fire,” causing the earth to quake and the heavens to tremble (Joel 2:5, 10). “Who can endure (such an onslaught)?” asks the prophet (v. 11). This is the day of the Lord, and it is terrible. In Revelation, however, the sound is very different. “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a multitude, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns’” (Revelation 19:6).
The very loudest experience that I’ve had in my life was a rock concert I attended in 1985. My ears were ringing well into the next day. It was at a volume well beyond my comfort level. That sort of noise makes sense when we are talking about the passage from Joel, where comfort is far from the issue. But what about Revelation? There the sound grows out of praise, not judgment, yet it would seem to be just as loud. What then are we to say about these things? Frankly, I’m not entirely sure of what to make of all this noise except to say that perhaps praising God is outside the normal comfort level of humanity, too. After all, this was John’s experience there on the Island of Patmos, a living human being’s vision of the end times. In our current condition we are incapable of relating to God as we should, and the experience of God’s praise is bound to be as physically jarring as oceans and thunderpeals.
Clearly, God is someone we can never get entirely comfortable with––and certainly not someone we can control. Ever since Adam and Eve hid themselves in the Garden of Eden we’ve been ill at ease in the presence of our Creator. The good news is that God appears to be willing to remain in covenant with us, delivering judgment to be sure, but also accepting our feeble praise. And as long as God is with us, then I believe we will be able to handle being with God.
Prayer: O God, we thank you for your continual presence in our midst. May we learn to offer you praise and to live according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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