In the brief writings of the prophet Joel, Israel has suffered a devastating loss of crops due to swarms of locusts. This destruction of natural resources seems to have come as a kind of discipline that pointed toward \u201cthe day of the Lord\u201d in which God\u2019s justice would come and eliminate the evil and unrighteous, and restore the faithful. Once again, however, we see the Lord graciously call his people to repentance and restoration — always his primary goal! When the nation turns back to him, a celebration is called for: \u201cO children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God\u201d (v.23). The Lord promises to restore their crops abundantly \u2013 bread, wine, and oil for all! Not only is the Lord\u2019s mercy poured out in his blessing of natural resources, but the promise of his very Spirit is given. Joel speaks of a time when God\u2019s Spirit will be poured out \u201con all flesh\u201d (v.28). We know this to be fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2), the so-called \u201cbirth of the church\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalmists know how to revel in the beauty of God\u2019s creation. In today\u2019s psalm, you can imagine the author praying in the temple, barely able to contain his joy. Perhaps his hands are lifted heavenward; perhaps tears of joy, of gratitude, stream down his face. He is bubbling up with thanksgiving that he is invited to dwell in the \u201ccourts\u201d of the Lord, the locus of God\u2019s Holy Presence. As Christians, we have the joy of knowing God\u2019s presence resides in us as individuals throughout each day, but also that the Holy Spirit is with us powerfully when we worship corporately in our churches. The One who set the boundaries of the seas, provides grain, and laid green pastures upon the earth, meets us each time we gather for the liturgy, and our hearts are turned toward Him in praise, wonder, and thanksgiving. He then gives us his very Self in the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul is always calling his apprentice-in-the-Lord Timothy to boldly embrace the gifts he has been given, and to proclaim the Gospel in all situations. Here, Timothy is given imagery of Paul\u2019s life as a drink offering, poured out before the Lord. Paul has emptied himself out, giving everything that he may obtain the \u201ccrown of righteousness\u201d that God will give to \u201call who have longed for his appearing\u201d (v.8). Paul had a strong sense that, even in the face of opposition, the Lord was right there with him, enabling him to be bold and to announce the Gospel to all. We too live in an age where the Gospel message is not always received favorably. In some parts of the world, to proclaim that message is to seal one\u2019s imminent fate. Yet, we are called by our Lord to be resolutely committed to the proclamation of his forgiveness and saving love in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will often hear people saying that Jesus preferred the company of prostitutes and sinners to the religious folks of his day. Certainly Jesus did hang out with such people, but the statement often becomes an argument for what Bonhoeffer called \u201ccheap grace\u201d \u2013 that is, an understanding of grace which minimizes concern about sin, and simply \u201crests in God\u2019s grace.\u201d But when someone receives God\u2019s grace, they will show signs of truly loving God, which Jesus says is manifested in obedience to his commandments (John 14:15). And to even recognize the need for God\u2019s grace, one must first recognize a problem in oneself — sinfulness. Jesus\u2019 parable criticizes a self-righteous Pharisee who believes himself to be right with God by contrasting him with a tax collector who recognizes the depths of his own sinfulness. The latter cries out to God, admitting his unworthiness and his need for redemption. Jesus says that this infamous sinner is the one who is justified because of his humility. He doesn\u2019t simply praise him because he is a sinner; he calls him \u201cjustified\u201d because of his willingness to admit his sin and to seek forgiveness. To this humble cry, God is always pleased to respond in acceptance, and the angels in heaven rejoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joel 2:23-32 In the brief writings of the prophet Joel, Israel has suffered a devastating loss of crops due to swarms of locusts. This destruction of natural resources seems to have come as a kind of discipline that pointed toward \u201cthe day of the Lord\u201d in which God\u2019s justice would come and eliminate the evil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,52,33,3],"tags":[359],"class_list":["post-766994","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-25c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":359,"label":"Proper 25C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952268,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766994\/revisions\/952268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}