Tag Archives: Joel

UCCDM Lenten Devotional- What Are Ashes For?

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This is the first entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2016 series. This devotional reflection comes from Dr. Kevin Pettit for Ash Wednesday. His bio cam be found on the Board of Directors page.

Joel 2:1-2, 12:17
1 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.
12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 rend 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.
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?’”

Even though we live in a very different context than the author of the book of Joel, his call for repentance still sounds loudly in today’s world. For, indeed, is not our world today at least partly filled with gloom, clouds, and thick darkness? The similarity of the present times of difficulty to those described in the book of Joel account for the resonance of these Biblical texts. So, too, do we sense the need to withdraw somehow, reflect on our lives, and struggle with our call in this world just as Jesus did during his extended time of isolation that we commemorate during Lent. A time of penitential preparation – a time of self-examination, prayer, fasting, and works of love – in preparation for our remembrance of the betrayal and cross of Jesus, as well as the resurrection of the living Christ, will profit our spirits. We hope that your Lenten journey might be aided by these Reflections and the consideration of their meaning and import in our lives today.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent which, in many churches, is commemorated by anointing one’s forehead with ashes as a reminder of one’s mortality. The crude and dark mess of these ashes – a form of matter similar to the eventual form that our bodies take after we die – is a fitting remembrance of disorder in our lives. But are not such scars of imperfection the very marks of our humanity?

While everyone’s particular set of challenges is unique – sometimes being as apparent as a missing limb and at other times being as hidden as diabetes – we each share more or less common challenges of body, mind, and spirit much like the ashes marking our foreheads at the beginning of Lent. However, even after washing ourselves clean of these ashes, we all need to learn to live productively with the imperfections that mark us as children of God.

To do this, we can set aside some time daily during this time of Lent to study and reflect upon the Bible or other sacred texts, reflect on our needs and struggles, our intentions and our actions, and our effect on family, friends, and all others. As we are called to embody Christ, we must take the time to consider how we might best promote the construction of the city of God. Such meditative times can serve to prepare our spirits for the work ahead.

Let us begin on this Lenten effort boldly and with strength!

Ash Wednesday Devotion

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This is the first entry in the UCCDM Lenten Devotional 2015 series. This reflection for Ash Wednesday comes to us from Rev. Jeanne Tyler, Co-Chair of UCCDM Board of Directors. Her bio can be found on the Board of Directors page. 

2 ¹ 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.

¹²Yet even now, says the Lord,
    return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     rend 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.
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 22:1-2 12-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I like Ash Wednesday. I like being marked with the sign of a cross in ashes on my forehead. I feel placed in community as an equal to all those alongside me. We hear ancient words like “Blow the Trumpet”, “gather the people”, “listen”, and “rend your hearts and not your garments”. It seems strange to write about hearing the words when I struggle to hear.

I like being in line with others in front and in back of me waiting to be marked with the sign of the cross. I feel placed in community as an equal to those in front and those in back. We wait patiently expectantly for the time will come. It seems strange to write about walking as though it is a given when I experience trouble with balance.

I like hearing the word “repent”. It means to change. I discover in the Book of Joel, God is repenting along with humanity. For the prophet Joel it is the people that are called to repent. It is the community that is called to repent. And it is also God who repents of the anger that if activated could destroy creation. Joel’s take is why would God place the divine reputation to the test?

When I read the Prophet Joel, I am reminded of the community to which I belong is the source of my being. The community is powerful enough to place me as an equal among others. This is truly a blessing for I experience alienation from myself and from others.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent which is a journey that the community takes together. The journey changes us. Repentance for persons with disability may mean giving up passivity in light of the disability and taking on activism on behalf of the self and others. It may mean claiming gifts that come alongside the disability. It may mean an acknowledgement that the community needs the wholeness and holiness we include to be whole and holy in and of herself as church. Repentance may mean for persons who are temporarily able bodied and able mindful to be attentive to and committed to the inclusion of all gifts of all people. This makes the church whole and holy. The journey means all these things and more but surely these are essential to the journey that is Lent.