13 October 2023

Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests;
wail, you ministers of the altar.
Come, pass the night in sackcloth,
you ministers of my God!
Grain-offering and drink-offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
From Joel 1:13-15,2:1-2, NRSV

Following the devastating effects of the visitation of a plague of locusts and a period of drought on the kingdom of Judah, the prophet Joel called the people to a period of repentance. Joel wanted the people to realise that what had happened was a judgement against their sinfulness and needed to be seen as a wake up call. He gave specific instructions for what the people were to do to show their repentance. Joel went on to foretell the the coming of the “Day of the Lord”. He spoke of this as a day of gloom and disaster. The people of Judah had not been living as God wanted and Joel expected them to be judged for that unless they repented.

• • What do you think Joel meant by “the Day of the Lord”?
  • How are we called to show repentance?

Pray for the discernment to see how you can show repentance.