Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. Scholars have a difficult time situating the Prophet Joel in the history of Israel. He is reacting to a catastrophe but which one? Perhaps we should take his message as a timeless one since catastrophes seem to be perennial. And the message? God isn’t done yet, tragedy does not get the last word, something new is on the horizon. When we look around the state of the country and the state of the world today it is easy to become discouraged. How will we ever get out of the mess we currently find ourselves in. Joel will tell us to look for the signs of God’s presence. In another passage that we use on Pentecost Sunday he speaks of the spirit which will renew both old and young alike. His prophetic message, and really the message of all the prophets, is that God can make a way out of no way. Let us hold live courageously the compassionate faith we have from Jesus and realize that his ability to drive out the demons of hatred, division, rancor, hostility, resentment has not diminished but is even now at work.
