Thursday, February

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (vv. 12-13 printed below)

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.

The prophet Joel has some bad news to deliver. “The day of the Lord is coming,” and it isn’t going to be a good thing. It will be a day of darkness, not light, because of the injustice that has become commonplace in the land. Yet, Joel offers hope in a picture of a God that is chomping at the bit to extend forgiveness, a God whose faithful love for us remains always steady. The solution, Joel says, is to return. Return here is actually the Hebrew word for “repent.” It’s the image that we’re heading in a direction, then decide to turn around and go the opposite way. The truth is that the faith journey is marked by regular moments of repentance, of changing direction to move toward life and transformation.

What has your relationship been like with the word repent? Can you think of moments in which you’ve done this about-face?