Excerpted from 2024 Lenten Guide: Terror and Amazement, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
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—
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.
Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from punishment.
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?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her canopy.
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?’ ”
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a day on which we are called to remember our mortality. We speak the truth, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Currently, the world surrounds us with reminders of our mortality. With the rising death toll in Gaza, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Sudan, and the daily gun violence that plagues our country, death dominates the headlines.
We could say it’s similar to the terror named by the prophet Joel:
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—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 (v. 1-2).
Joel then exhorts the community to turn to God in the hopes that God will intervene. Lest we think that Lenten disciplines are an opportunity to showcase personal piety, we are challenged to seek sincere inward change. As we sit in the ashes of world turmoil, Joel instructs us to do so “with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (v. 12). In so doing, our hearts can become fertile ground for God’s transformative grace.
In the midst of a world confronting daily terrors, our Lenten discipline can be a testament to our longing for God’s intervention. Through prayer, fasting, acts of kindness, and other intentional practices, we create space for disciplines that cultivate compassion, justice, and love. When we respond to God’s call with our whole hearts, seeking grace and mercy, we might be amazed at what we find.
