SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY - FEBRUARY 16,19,20, 2000

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - Watertown, WI

BROUGHT TO OUR KNEES. LIFTED TO GLORY! JOEL 1:1-4, 2:12-13

Twenty-two people killed as tornados strike southwest Georgia. Hundreds of homes are flattened Hundreds more are damaged. If you have ever experienced a tornado, you know the terrible destruction that such a storm can cause. Such natural disasters bring us to our knees. They cause us to realize that we are not the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls. There is someone who is much more powerful and greater than any of us.

The prophet Joel speaks of a natural disaster, a plague of locusts. Since the majority of us are not involved in farming, we have no idea what a locust plague can do. Such a plague can wipe out a farmer's entire crop for a year and even longer. His entire crop is eaten by locusts. He is not able to get seed for the next year. He has no crop for that year. His entire means of making a living can be destroyed. He is left with nothing. Joel warns of a great locust plague. One that is so great that nothing like it has ever been experienced before. Joel uses this picture to point to another great destruction, the end of the world and the final judgment of all people. Joel uses this fact of the coming judgement to call people to turn back to the Lord, to repent of their sinful ways and come back to their Savior God.

As we turn our thoughts to the prophecy of Joel we see ourselves BROUGHT TO OUR KNEES and then LIFTED TO GLORY!

BROUGHT TO OUR KNEES

Who of us likes to admit that we are wrong? Who of us carefully examines our lifestyle and says, "This is contrary to the will of my holy God"? We like to justify our actions, words and thoughts. How do we do that? When a child is confronted by his parents for doing something wrong, what does he do? Sometimes he denies that he did that. "Oh, I didn't do that." Or he may blame someone else. "It's Sarah's fault that I did that. She told me to do that."

We aren't any different, are we? We may take something that doesn't belong to us and we justify in our minds that the person we stole the item from has so much that he won't miss it. Or we think, "I needed that more than that other person." Or we refuse to be truthful and honest with someone. We reason, the truth will hurt that person, so I'll lie instead. I won't be honest. It's better for the other person that I not tell her the truth. We all can justify any of our sins in that manner. We can always find a reason for what we have done and make disobedience and wickedness look good. That's what the devil did when he tricked Eve to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He focused her attentions on how good and wonderful this would be for her rather than upon the truth that she was disobeying the command of her all loving Creator.

There is a day coming, however, when all those rationalizations and excuses will not stand up. That's the final day of Judgment when we have to stand before our Holy and Mighty God and give an answer for what we have said, thought and done. God won't accept any excuses. He won't say, "Well, I understand, that's the way things were at that time. It was the twenty first century and people had advanced so much that they knew better than I did." He won't overlook our sins and say, "I realize that you thought I wanted you to be happy and so I wasn't concerned when you threw my laws aside and did your own thing." No, God will say, I said to you, "Be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) As Peter writes, "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17) What a terrifying and frightening day that could be. It could be just like a tornado racing through our community and destroying everything in sight. It could be like the hordes of locusts devouring every green plant in sight. When you think about that, it does bring you to your knees. That is what God wants to happen. He brings us to our knees. He opens our eyes to see the seriousness of our sins and how it totally destroys our relationship with him. It brings upon us the judgment of eternal condemnation. That is why Joel says, "Rend your heart and not your garment." (2:13a) The Jews often would show their sorrow over sin by tearing their clothes. God says, "That's not what I want. I am not concerned about what outward actions you go through. I am concerned about your heart. I am concerned that you realize the seriousness of your sin and there is nothing that you can do to make it right. I am concerned that you know that you deserve to be separated from me eternally because of who you are and what you have done and failed to do. As Christians we at times may be guilty of tearing our clothes and not being cut to the heart. We go through the motions of our religious formalities. We come to church, we confess our sins, listen to a sermon, we throw our offerings in the plate and think that God is satisfied with what we have done. We fail to realize that God is concerned with our hearts. If there is no faith or fruits of faith in our lives, these religious exercises we go through don't amount to anything. That is why Joel issues the call, "Return to the Lord."

LIFTED TO GLORY!

When you have done something wrong, do you quickly run to the person you have hurt or wronged and tell them? Probably not. As children when we broke something, we usually didn't run to our parents and tell them, "I broke the TV." Why not? Because we were afraid of their reaction. We often tried to conceal what we had done and try to fix it ourselves. Otherwise, there would probably be a big blow-up: shouting, screaming, hollering, punishments and who knows what. So we kept quiet. But what does God want us to do? He says, "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." (2:12) God invites us to come to him. But what is he going to do? Is he going to punish us? Is he going to disown us and have nothing to do with us again? No! Listen to what Joel writes, "Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (2:13b) That is a switch.

Most often when we admit our wrongs to other people, they punish us; they disown us; they spread our sins all over the community and tell everyone else what we have done. But that is not how God treats us. He welcomes us with open arms. He does not throw up before us our past disobedience and rebellion. He does not punish us eternally for the wrongs we have committed. There will probably be earthly consequences as a result of my sins, but the eternal consequences, the pains and torments of hell that I deserve will be removed from me forever. When the Jews brought before Jesus the woman who had been caught in adultery and were going to stone her to death for her sin, "Jesus said, If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." The men all left and Jesus looked at the woman and said, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She answered him, "No one." Jesus then said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:7ff)

That is exactly how God treats each and everyone of us. Whenever we come to him and honestly admit that we have sinned and rebelled against him, he does not beat us. He does not say, "What again?" Didn't you do the same thing a week ago and haven't you been doing this over and over again for most of your life? Are you really that sorry? No that is not how our Lord treats us. As John writes, "Whenever we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) But how many times is God going to forgive us for the same sin? Remember what Jesus told Peter when Peter asked how often he should forgive his brother who had sinned against him? Peter thought seven times was enough and Jesus said, No. Seventy times seven. That doesn't mean we forgive 490 times and then stop. Our forgiveness is unending just as our loving God's forgiveness continues on and on.

Even though God brings us to our knees with his holy law, he lifts us up to glory. For he freely and willingly forgives all of our sins. So let us each return to our Lord for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.(2:13b)

Amen