Proper 25, Reformation Sunday
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons:
With an Eye to the New
The lectionary sometimes begins a reading in the middle of one oracle and adds to it another. That is true of the Old Testament text for this Reformation Day. Joel 2:23-27 are the second half of the poem that begins in 2:18. Joel 2:28-32 then constitutes a separate oracle.
To understand this lesson, we really need to understand the whole message of Joel. In the post-exilic fourth century B.C., Judah experiences a devastating locust plague, followed by a drought (1:1-14). Joel never states explicitly the nature of Judah's sin, although he probably has Judah's apostasy in mind. But Joel's warning to his compatriots is that an even greater judgment is coming upon them for their violation of their covenant, a judgment that will affect the whole cosmos -- the judgment of the Day of the Lord, when God comes to set up his kingdom on earth (1:15--2:11).
Out of pure grace, through the message of Joel, God nevertheless holds out to his apostate people the opportunity to repent and to return in faithfulness to their covenant with their Lord (2:12-17). But no matter what Judah's response is -- and it is not recorded -- God goes on to tell his people the marvelous things he will do for them, simply out of the pity that he has in his heart for his beloved people (2:18). That telling makes up verses 23-27 of our stated text.
In his grace, God will restore to Judah all that they have lost in the locust plague and drought. The ground will be restored (cf. 2:21 with 1:10). The wild animals will be fed (cf. 2:22 with 1:20). Joy will return to Judah's harvests and worship (cf. 2:23 with 1:16). The drought will be a thing of the past (cf. 2:23 with 1:10, 12, 18-20). The fruit trees will bear (cf. 2:22 with 1:12, 19). Threshing floors and wine vats will be full (cf. 2:24 with 1:5, 17). All are blessings in the covenant relation that God will reestablish with his people (cf. Deuteronomy 11:12-17; 28:3-5, 11-12; Leviticus 26:3-5), and all make up the blessed future into which God will lead his chosen folk.
Best of all, in such promised future, Israel will know that the Lord is in her midst and that he alone is God (2:27). Her apostate past will be behind her. She will be reunited with her Lord.
We should note well, however, on this Reformation Sunday. Such a blessed future is not the reward of any action or repentance on sinful Judah's part, but simply the outpouring of the grace of the God, who above all else wishes abundant life for his own.
By joining 2:28-29 with 2:27, our text makes the point that Judah's reunion with her God will be manifested in his gift of the spirit to all flesh. Probably the words "all flesh" refer to all persons in Judah, since that is what is emphasized in the following lines. All of God's covenant people will enjoy the intimate relation with him hitherto known only to the prophets. God will be with them in their midst; they will know him; and they will worship him alone, in covenant faithfulness.
Joel 2:28-29 are those verses that are quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17-18 on the day of Pentecost, when the church is given the gift of God's Spirit, and in that event, the gift of the Spirit is indeed afforded to "all flesh" of every nation. Now all peoples everywhere can live in covenant communion with the Lord.
Nevertheless, as Joel 2:30-32 and Acts 2:19-21 record, the Day of the Lord, when he returns to judge all flesh, still comes. And once again, Joel -- and indeed Peter -- issue a warning. It is possible to be given the gift of the Spirit of God and to do nothing with him. We can let the Spirit lie dormant within our hearts. We can ignore his promptings and follow our own desires. We can even deny that God has entered our hearts at all. But, as the New Testament affirms in the parables and teachings of Jesus and in the writings of Paul, we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God in the Day that comes.
God, in his mercy, will give us a signal before the day is upon us, however (cf. Malachi 4:5; Luke 21:25-28). As in the apocalyptic passages of Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, there will be signs in heaven and on earth. Joel lists blood and fire and columns of smoke from burning cities, and the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood (Joel 2:30-31), not from an eclipse or sandstorm as some would have it, but by God.
As Joel proclaims, and as Peter (Acts 2:21) and Paul (Romans 10:13) both pronounce, however, those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered from destruction (Joel 2:31). We need to ask, therefore, what that means.
Certainly the prophet and apostles do not have in mind some last minute plea for mercy, some prayer uttered simply to save our own skins. To be sure, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7). But true repentance and turning to the Lord involve not the effort to save ourselves, but the humble deliverance of all we are into God's hands to do with as he will (cf. the Gospel lesson for the day).
Indeed, if we let the scripture interpret the scripture and look up other passages in which we find the phrase "to call on the name of the Lord," we find that it involves a rich and persistent life of devotion to God. It means to worship God (Genesis 12:8), to acknowledge that we belong to him alone (Isaiah 12:2-4; 44:5; Psalm 105:1; Zechariah 13:9), and to depend on him for all life and good (Proverbs 18:10). All of that involves not just one act of commitment, but the day-by-day attempt to let God rule our lives -- repeated repentance that issues in continual devotion and communion with our Lord.
Further, "to call on the name of the Lord" is, throughout the scriptures, to tell others what God has done (cf. Psalm 105;1; Isaiah 12:4) -- as Acts emphasizes, to be the Lord's witnesses to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). Thus it is that Paul quotes "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). But then he goes on to ask how persons can call on the Lord of whom they have never heard, and how can they hear without a preacher or a witness to tell them the good news. So Christians are summoned, as they call on God for salvation, to invite all others into that blessed life.
Finally, our text from Joel states that those who call on God for deliverance are those whom God has already called (Joel 2:32). That is always the way it is in the scriptures. God's act is always first, God's grace is always "prevenient." And the implication is that those who have been given the Spirit, as in verses 28 and 29, are those who are enabled to worship and serve and witness.
So the message from Joel is very clear. We Christians are those who have been given the Spirit of the Lord at our baptisms. In the power of that Spirit, we are enabled to "call on the name of the Lord," with all that phrase implies. Therefore, when Christ returns on the Day of the Lord "to judge the quick and the dead," we need have no fear (2:21, 22). Indeed, God holds out before us an abundant life analogous to that of which we read in Joel 2:23-27, with God in our midst (2:27) and great gladness and joy in his presence (2:23).
Lutheran Option: Jeremiah 31:31-34
See the exposition for the previous Sunday.
To understand this lesson, we really need to understand the whole message of Joel. In the post-exilic fourth century B.C., Judah experiences a devastating locust plague, followed by a drought (1:1-14). Joel never states explicitly the nature of Judah's sin, although he probably has Judah's apostasy in mind. But Joel's warning to his compatriots is that an even greater judgment is coming upon them for their violation of their covenant, a judgment that will affect the whole cosmos -- the judgment of the Day of the Lord, when God comes to set up his kingdom on earth (1:15--2:11).
Out of pure grace, through the message of Joel, God nevertheless holds out to his apostate people the opportunity to repent and to return in faithfulness to their covenant with their Lord (2:12-17). But no matter what Judah's response is -- and it is not recorded -- God goes on to tell his people the marvelous things he will do for them, simply out of the pity that he has in his heart for his beloved people (2:18). That telling makes up verses 23-27 of our stated text.
In his grace, God will restore to Judah all that they have lost in the locust plague and drought. The ground will be restored (cf. 2:21 with 1:10). The wild animals will be fed (cf. 2:22 with 1:20). Joy will return to Judah's harvests and worship (cf. 2:23 with 1:16). The drought will be a thing of the past (cf. 2:23 with 1:10, 12, 18-20). The fruit trees will bear (cf. 2:22 with 1:12, 19). Threshing floors and wine vats will be full (cf. 2:24 with 1:5, 17). All are blessings in the covenant relation that God will reestablish with his people (cf. Deuteronomy 11:12-17; 28:3-5, 11-12; Leviticus 26:3-5), and all make up the blessed future into which God will lead his chosen folk.
Best of all, in such promised future, Israel will know that the Lord is in her midst and that he alone is God (2:27). Her apostate past will be behind her. She will be reunited with her Lord.
We should note well, however, on this Reformation Sunday. Such a blessed future is not the reward of any action or repentance on sinful Judah's part, but simply the outpouring of the grace of the God, who above all else wishes abundant life for his own.
By joining 2:28-29 with 2:27, our text makes the point that Judah's reunion with her God will be manifested in his gift of the spirit to all flesh. Probably the words "all flesh" refer to all persons in Judah, since that is what is emphasized in the following lines. All of God's covenant people will enjoy the intimate relation with him hitherto known only to the prophets. God will be with them in their midst; they will know him; and they will worship him alone, in covenant faithfulness.
Joel 2:28-29 are those verses that are quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17-18 on the day of Pentecost, when the church is given the gift of God's Spirit, and in that event, the gift of the Spirit is indeed afforded to "all flesh" of every nation. Now all peoples everywhere can live in covenant communion with the Lord.
Nevertheless, as Joel 2:30-32 and Acts 2:19-21 record, the Day of the Lord, when he returns to judge all flesh, still comes. And once again, Joel -- and indeed Peter -- issue a warning. It is possible to be given the gift of the Spirit of God and to do nothing with him. We can let the Spirit lie dormant within our hearts. We can ignore his promptings and follow our own desires. We can even deny that God has entered our hearts at all. But, as the New Testament affirms in the parables and teachings of Jesus and in the writings of Paul, we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God in the Day that comes.
God, in his mercy, will give us a signal before the day is upon us, however (cf. Malachi 4:5; Luke 21:25-28). As in the apocalyptic passages of Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, there will be signs in heaven and on earth. Joel lists blood and fire and columns of smoke from burning cities, and the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood (Joel 2:30-31), not from an eclipse or sandstorm as some would have it, but by God.
As Joel proclaims, and as Peter (Acts 2:21) and Paul (Romans 10:13) both pronounce, however, those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered from destruction (Joel 2:31). We need to ask, therefore, what that means.
Certainly the prophet and apostles do not have in mind some last minute plea for mercy, some prayer uttered simply to save our own skins. To be sure, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7). But true repentance and turning to the Lord involve not the effort to save ourselves, but the humble deliverance of all we are into God's hands to do with as he will (cf. the Gospel lesson for the day).
Indeed, if we let the scripture interpret the scripture and look up other passages in which we find the phrase "to call on the name of the Lord," we find that it involves a rich and persistent life of devotion to God. It means to worship God (Genesis 12:8), to acknowledge that we belong to him alone (Isaiah 12:2-4; 44:5; Psalm 105:1; Zechariah 13:9), and to depend on him for all life and good (Proverbs 18:10). All of that involves not just one act of commitment, but the day-by-day attempt to let God rule our lives -- repeated repentance that issues in continual devotion and communion with our Lord.
Further, "to call on the name of the Lord" is, throughout the scriptures, to tell others what God has done (cf. Psalm 105;1; Isaiah 12:4) -- as Acts emphasizes, to be the Lord's witnesses to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). Thus it is that Paul quotes "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). But then he goes on to ask how persons can call on the Lord of whom they have never heard, and how can they hear without a preacher or a witness to tell them the good news. So Christians are summoned, as they call on God for salvation, to invite all others into that blessed life.
Finally, our text from Joel states that those who call on God for deliverance are those whom God has already called (Joel 2:32). That is always the way it is in the scriptures. God's act is always first, God's grace is always "prevenient." And the implication is that those who have been given the Spirit, as in verses 28 and 29, are those who are enabled to worship and serve and witness.
So the message from Joel is very clear. We Christians are those who have been given the Spirit of the Lord at our baptisms. In the power of that Spirit, we are enabled to "call on the name of the Lord," with all that phrase implies. Therefore, when Christ returns on the Day of the Lord "to judge the quick and the dead," we need have no fear (2:21, 22). Indeed, God holds out before us an abundant life analogous to that of which we read in Joel 2:23-27, with God in our midst (2:27) and great gladness and joy in his presence (2:23).
Lutheran Option: Jeremiah 31:31-34
See the exposition for the previous Sunday.
