"Return to the Lord, your God" - November 11
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:97-120; PM Psalm 81, 82, Joel 2:12-19; Rev. 19:11-21; Luke 15:1-10
In the film “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” characters played by Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant go on a rollercoaster of emotions, social gatherings and liturgical rites around the British Isles. Their individual stories keep getting intertwined with one another. Sometimes it goes well; other times, there is heartbreak. During the heart-rending gathering to remember a character who has died abruptly, the poem “Funeral Blues” (1940) by W. H. Auden is recited:
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
The loss encapsulated in this poem is powerful and deeply emotive. In that space of devastation, where is one to turn? What could possibly come next? While a standard-issue “Rom/Com” would have us believe that romance brings resolve, the scriptures today offer some other avenues to ponder.
The readings appointed from Joel 2 and Luke 15 both speak to loss and the power of turning our lives over to God. The prophet Joel writes in a time of much turmoil and hardship. The poetry of today’s excerpt extends the invitation toward reliance upon God in the midst of disappointment:
“Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing…” (v. 12-13)
Contrasted to the isolation and devastation in Auden’s poem, the prophet Joel uses lyrical language to call the Israelites to band together and return to the rhythms of prayer and sacrifice they have always known:
”Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast…” (v. 15-16a)
In this Holy Scripture (which may sound familiar from the Ash Wednesday service), we trust that God will not leave us comfortless. We hear the reminder to return to God with our whole heart, and not just a changed exterior. We believe that our Lord will answer us, as he did in Joel: “I am sending you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied…” (v. 19)
And now, briefly to Luke. I notice the language pattern Jesus uses in closing the parables: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost;” “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” In each vignette, the player truly thought they had lost one of their own. Jesus uses sheep and coins as impartial placeholders in the story, to resonate with his listeners: scribes, Pharisees, tax collectors, and other “garden variety” sinners. What else – and who else – might Jesus’ listeners insert into that sentence as they gathered to hear Jesus speak? What other prayers of restoration were they seeking?
Jesus offers hope as we mourn. In 2020, many have experienced a myriad of losses – loved ones, security, compassion, health, relationships. Jesus invites us: Rejoice with me, for I have found my loved one that was lost…my security that was lost…my compassion that was lost…my health that was lost… my relationships that were lost. While Jesus uses examples of tangible items in his parables, what is truly precious in God’s eyes is YOU. The joy amidst the angels of God swells as we repent and return to the Lord our God. For whatever it is that you lament this day, Jesus invites you to return those cares to God…and even more, offer your whole life to God.
-- Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
What (or who) in your life feels utterly lost right now?
When has “offloading” concerns upon God been helpful? What obstacles prevent this?
Daily Challenge
Reread Joel 2:12-13. What about God’s love and care for you do you need today? Write the word or phrase on a piece of paper. Spend five minutes focusing your breathing and your prayer upon God. When your mind wanders, recenter yourself by thinking of that word or phrase you wrote down.