Exposition on Joel -23- Verse 14-20 - Introduction

In one of the past posts we talked a little bit about the relationship of God to visible Israel and His relationship to the visible church. And we briefly discussed this idea of pleading to God for His mercy regarding the sins of the visible church as a whole. Should we fast and pray about the scandals and self-righteousness that plagues the visible church today and adds offence to the gospel? Is there any connection between the church’s sins and the calamities we endure today such as the Tsunami in Asia, or closer to home, the 911 attacks and Katrina? The Puritans sometimes gathered for prayer and lamentation for the sins of their congregations after a poor crop year or a devastating winter storm. Imagine a day when a pastor or a group of pastors calls for the visible church to assemble to cry out to God for His mercy on their sins as individuals and the sins of the church at large. Imagine if we, as the baptized people of God, were called to cease from our work, our livelihood and abstain from food for a period of time set apart with the purpose of focusing all our time and efforts on praying for God to forgive our sins and show mercy to us and to our nations. If this event took place in our own age, we could imagine the possible news coverage. It might go something like this: Pastors from around the world came together today declaring for their parishioners a fast. As they and the members of their churches gathered at local church buildings, their entire communities felt the effects. Millions in the US alone took vacation days so they could attend. Many outsiders see this pious act as nothing more than a practice in self righteousness, but as you are likely to have heard, these leaders are claiming that they are calling and being called themselves, to repent (they say) of their personal sins and the sins of the Christian Church as a whole. Earlier today it was reported that a number of child psychologists were consulted on the matter. Without exception, they agreed that parents who asked their children (some as young as five) to participate in a communal fast were doing nothing more than physically and psychologically abusing them. The church leaders and parents have gone on record in their own defense saying that their Creator, Yahweh God has inspired this act through the use of His shepherds (most of the times called pastors or priests). They’ve gone on to say that the consecration of a period of 3 days to lament the loss of their material possessions and even some of their loved ones due to the 7 major terrorist attacks around the world in the last year, and the global impact they have had on economies, is what they have been called to do. As a “body” they claim to have begun the process of admitting their sins and are now displaying the seriousness of their plea to their God for mercy through their collective refusal to eat or take part in the commercial activities of the world. What can not be ignored as the rest of the world looks on is the tension this event has created within the organized church, and the outright refusal of some leaders and parishioners to participate in what they refer to as a terrorizing act on Christianity from the inside. Many high-profile Christian professors and pastors, along with likeminded laypeople calling themselves “progressives” have signed the declaration titled, “Christians Against the Christian Cancer”. Psychologists from Berkley and NYU have identified the behavior of these fasters as symptoms of a type of mental illness similar to masochism which produces such attention seeking behavior as “cutting” and bulimia in some teens and early adults. Sociologists have identified this event as being similar to Waco, TX and Jonestown—they hope the same end is avoidable and authorities from around the world have said that if this event was isolated to one specific location then military action on behalf of the minors involved would be imminent. Now, on a lighter note, the hit Latin boy-band Menudo has reunited with front man and former congressman, Ricky Martin to embark on a world tour commemorating the 35^th anniversary of the band’s debut—here’s Katie with the report. This is one way to apply this passage to our own lives. So does contextualizing Joel’s call like this help us to understand the passage better or help us to maybe sympathize with Joel’s audience?