Return
to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love….
God’s love for all creation is evident in the marvelous promises
made to humankind throughout Biblical accounts of civilization. God will be with us. God
will strengthen us. God will protect and defend us. God will save us from our enemies. God
will make himself known to us. God will live among us. We are so ready to hear and accept
God’s promises of grace.
But God says more. Live as my people, God says. Love me above all else.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Do we – indeed, can we – live as God requires? And if we
cannot, will God revoke those wonderful promises? Will God forsake us?
"Return to the Lord, your God," urges the prophet
Joel. "He is gracious and merciful."
Joel was speaking to the often recalcitrant Israelites, who had been
plagued by swarms of locusts. Locusts were not an uncommon problem in Joel’s day.
Swarms of them periodically overwhelmed the land, eating everything in sight and
destroying the very bread that fed the people.
It was customary in Joel’s time for people to believe that natural
disasters came as divine retribution for evil actions. But even with that cultural
perspective, Joel’s audience felt no remorse, no responsibility for their plight.
Many of them dismissed the notion of divine retribution, relegating the plague of locusts
to the category of "bad luck." Joel disagreed and held the people to account.
Return to the Lord, your God, urged Joel. Recognize and admit your sin.
God is gracious and merciful. He will forgive you. He will bring you back to himself. He
will give you back the years the locusts have stolen.
Will God forsake us? Certainly not. We have God’s promise.
Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful. Do it
now, today. He will give you back the years the locusts have stolen.
Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned.
