Ash Wednesday Joel 2:12-19 Return to Jesus

Joel 2:12-19 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

The prophet Joel was a kind and gentle man. He did not condemn, criticize and reprimand the people as other prophets did, but rather he implored and wept for them; he tried with kind and friendly words to make the people turn to God to protect them from harm and misfortune. But it happened to him as to the other prophets; the people did not believe his admonitions and held him to be a fool.

But God Himself had revealed what would happen to the people of Judah and eventually to the whole world. Joel saw the massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah as a harbinger of the “great and dreadful Day of the Lord.”  Joel did not prophesy the popular concept that while Judah would be spared and blessed, the day would be one of judgment on the rest of the nations.  Instead he describes the day as one of punishment for all the unfaithful including Israel.  Restoration and blessing would come only after God’s judgment and repentance by the people.

Joel warned the people that a self-indulgent lifestyle pursued by those who value material things more than the spiritual would lose everything they valued so highly. Indeed the temple had been in a state disrepair. Centuries of misuse and neglect had caused Solomon’s once magnificent structure to be in bad shape.  Many of the artifacts that it had contained had been taken out and used to worship Baal and other false gods. But the temple had been rebuilt by the time Joel was a young man.

And after this restoration had taken place, the offerings and sacrifices were once again being done in the Temple and everyone seemed to be satisfied. Joel however, still saw that there was a problem. The restoration wasn’t complete. Oh, the temple looked fine, but there hadn’t been any real change in the people.

Joel proclaimed, “Rend your heart and not your garments.” It was the custom then that if you were mourning the loss of someone or in deep sorrow over something, you would tear your clothes, put on sackcloth or wear ashes on your head as an outward sign of your inward sadness. But many of the people were insincere with God. When they worshipped, they would tear their clothes, or they would put ashes on their heads, but it was all just for show. They would do everything to look like they were sorry for their sins but there was no repentance. After giving up a sacrificial offering they figured they had paid for their sins and would go back to doing those same sins.

God did not want their superficial sacrifices as a payment for sins however, but rather He wanted to show that there is a cost for sins and that cost is greater than any sinful man can pay. Remember David and Bathsheba? When they had their love affair, they saw no harm in their actions. But the consequences for their sinful actions led to the death of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah and also to the death of their son. No amount of sacrifice on their part could bring them back. (2 Samuel 11-12)  When Nathan pointed out David’s sin to him, he had heartfelt remorse over what he had done. When David confessed his sins before Nathan, he received forgiveness for his sins and proceeded to be blessed by God.

God wants you to recognize that you have sinned against Him. He has written what is right and wrong on your hearts and minds but when you search only in your hearts and minds it is easy for you to justify what you have done. The word of God however is the final authority as to what is wrong and right; what is sinful and what is righteous before God. Whenever we sin, we follow our sinful hearts rather than the righteous words of God. Therefore since sin starts within our hearts, repentance also starts in the heart.  But repentance does not stop within the heart; it flows outward and is shown by our deeds. God says though Joel, “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

It’s the same for us as we gather tonight on Ash Wednesday. God is looking for repentance from you, a change of heart and a return to Him for forgiveness.

He doesn’t just want you to say all the right words while you are here tonight and then go home thinking you have done your part. He wants you to understand that Jesus Christ has carried all of your sins to the cross.  Jesus did not carry just your big sins and let you on your own to make amends for those so-called little sins. 

From God’s point of view, there are no degrees of sin. Sin is sin and no one can enter into His kingdom unless he is completely free of sin. Jesus paid the price even for the tiniest of sins on that cross.  No sin is too large nor is any sin too small. When the Holy Spirit enters into your heart and opens it up to believe that Jesus is the all availing, all sufficient sacrifice for yours sins, and you are truly forgiven and truly given eternal life.

Even your faith is given to you through the Holy Spirit; it is not a work that you do but rather your faith is an inward action done by God. Kindly outward actions may be beneficial to those around you, but if there is no inward change, it’s really all for naught, and the underlying problem of sin wouldn’t be solved.

God tells you, “Rend your heart and not your garments.” These outward things that we are doing tonight, putting ashes on our forehead, standing before God, confessing our sins, singing mournful hymns, they are all proper things to do.  But even good things can be done for sinful reasons. Therefore Jesus warns us against doing good things in order to draw attention to ourselves and then thinking these good works earn favor with God. And good works mean absolutely nothing if we are insincere with God, telling Him how sorry we are, and returning home to the same sinful life we have been leading. 

When you perform an act of charity in order to receive appreciation, it's not really an act of charity done out of love for God; instead, it ends up being done for self-gratification.  So, in the end, you end up not doing it to the glory of God, but to self-glory and so you have your reward in this life. A truly good act of charity is done unselfishly, drawing no attention and not even hoping for appreciation or gratitude but giving all of the credit and glory to God.

So, let’s take a moment for self-examination: When you pray, do you pray for healing, forgiveness and blessings just for yourself and those you love or do you include God’s Blessings for your enemies? When you do good deeds, do you do so with the expectation of thanks or appreciation? Is it okay with you if your gift is taken with no gratitude whatsoever? If you perform some good work for the Church or are charitable to others, and never receive thanks for it, are you likely to continue or do you stop? Do you only do good things because they make you feel good or because God has said it is the right thing to do?

Now, let’s think about Jesus for a moment. He healed many people and never accepted any payment nor did he allow Himself to be made an earthly King. He often went into the mountains to pray by Himself or with just a few disciples. During His Passion, He prayed that His Father would protect His disciples. On the cross He prayed that His enemies might be forgiven. As He hung there, He displayed great self-control: for although He could have destroyed His enemies, and saved Himself, He submitted to the humiliation, pain and suffering to save you and me.

Tonight, as we reflect on our Lord’s journey to the cross, is a perfect night to do some soul searching. Look and see what sins you have been justifying. Compare what your heart tells you with what God is saying to you through His inerrant Word. Is your heart always saying the same thing God says in His word?  When we take a good look, we see that we all fall short of what God tells us.

Saint Paul says, “Now is the time of salvation.” “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  A good accountant will tell you that when the record books are reconciled they are good, right and true. So, Paul is saying that you need to know what is good, right and true as defined in the Word of God. When we do that we see the universal need for all people to repent. “Assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, ‘Spare your people, O Lord.’”

Tonight, as we have gone to God’s Word and have seen that we have fallen short, let us repent of our sins and turn to Jesus.  Let us realize the love God has shown us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our Salvation.  Then let’s go to His Sacrament, and receive His body and blood, for the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting.

Then as His love flows into our hearts, let us give ourselves completely over to God so that His love flows outward to all those whom God places in our paths.  And knowing our salvation is assured through His body and blood, let us go forth as God’s adopted children, heirs of eternal life and rich in the rewards of heaven giving all glory honor and praise to God the Father for the sake of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Name, Amen.