The Book of Joel is a very short book in the Bible, only 73 verses long, but it has a very important message for the people.
The prophet is Joel telling the people to repent from their sins and return to God:
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
In ancient times, the act of tearing one’s clothing or wearing sackcloth, sometimes with ashes, was an act of great mourning, sorrow, or anguish. It indicated an act of seeking forgiveness for one’s sins, seeking mercy from God’s impeding punishment or God’s saving power in times of war and oppression that was brought on by sin. One of the more memorable acts would be the people of Nineveh when Jonah preached of God’s coming punishment on them. Even the king took off his royal robes and put on sackcloth, a poor-quality material made of goat hair, seeking God’s mercy. Prophets in the Old Testament would wear sackcloth, and sometimes sprinkle ashes over their head, as a sign to the people to turn from their sinfulness.
But the prophet Joel is telling the people NOT to make an outward show like normal. Joel was calling the people to a deep repentance from their hearts when he said: “Rend your hearts not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.”
Even the response to the Psalm today is: “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.” Psalm 51 is a call from our hearts for God to hear us and have mercy on us.
Psalm 51 is one of my favorite Psalms. I pray it a lot. I encourage you to read the whole Psalm today to help us begin Lent seeking God’s forgiveness, mercy and love.
Like the prophet Joel, Pope Francis has called on us to fast and pray, this time for peace in Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are suffering and fearful of the future. They have lived under Russian rule before and do not want it again. All Christians in the Ukraine know that they will be persecuted and possibly martyred if Russia succeeds. We join our Holy Father today fasting and praying for the people of Ukraine and for peace in that land.
As we begin Lent today, we will receive the cross of ashes on our forehead to remind us that we have sinned and need God’s mercy. Let this sign of the cross in ashes remind us to repent from our sins and return to God with our whole heart.
