“Opening hearts”
Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 (December 8, 2024)
Maybe you’ve heard the story of Jake Martens – don’t worry, no relation to anyone here! Jake was a frugal Mennonite painter. In order to save both paint and profit, he used to thin his paint.
One day he had a big job, painting his neighbour’s barn. (His neighbour was a Baptist, and he wanted to impress him.) He was painting away, and the job was nearly complete. But just then he heard a loud clap of thunder. And before he knew it, the sky opened up and the rain fell down. It washed all the paint off the barn.
Jake fell from the scaffold to the ground. He was no fool. He knew this was a message from the Almighty. He raised his voice to the heavens, “Lord, forgive me. The paint has washed off! What should I do now?”
From heaven, a voice returned: “Repaint, repaint! And thin no more!”
That’s an old joke and you’ve probably heard it before – minus a few of my embellishments. But it’s a reminder that an important theme in this Advent season is repentance. In light of Christ’s coming we are called to turn around, put our lives in order. Live, even now, as though the Realm of God was already here among us.
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On this second Sunday of Advent, we’re used to hearing the voice of John the Baptist: “Repent,” he said, “for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:3)
John was a rough and ready kind of guy. A bit quirky with his diet and the way he dressed. He wasn’t afraid to confront people. Remember how he tore a strip off the religious leaders? “You brood of vipers!” he called them, wiping the saliva off his chin. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Well actually, it was you, John. But that didn’t stop his rant. “Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’”
Yes, John was quite a character. But his message was spot on!
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This year, we’re following some different readings for Advent. Last week it was Daniel who learned to trust his life to the God who saves. This week we hear from the prophet Joel, about whom little is known. But whose words have echoed down through the ages, and come again to us this morning.
The voice may be different, but the message is familiar. “Repent,” he says. Seems the prophets of God were always having to call us wayward human beings to change our ways. And to return to the God who made us.
My take on the prophet Joel, at least when it comes to this part of his message, is that he has a tender heart and a gentle soul.
(Now if you ever read the whole book of Joel, you’ll discover lots of difficult, disturbing images. But here, in our passage for today, there’s a lovely warmth to what he says. He takes on the loving compassion of the very God in whose name he speaks.)
“Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart …”
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“Return to me.” Can you hear this desire, deep desire, in God for relationship with God’s people? There’s nothing God wants more than this. You and me, we are created in love, for love.
And it is love’s very nature to reach out, to embrace. To forgive when wrong is done. To call for return when the one who is loved wanders far, far away.
“Return to me,” says the Lord, with all your heart.
Have you wandered far away? Are you feeling lost, disoriented? Defiant? The path your life is on – is it taking you closer to God? Or is this path leading you farther away?
Joel’s words chase after us, beckoning to our souls, pleading for our return. “Come back,” says God. “Come home, to the place where you belong. That familiar place that maybe you’ve almost forgotten. But not quite.
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I was back in my home town this fall, the city of Guelph, Ontario. I don’t get there very often any more. And it’s a strange feeling when I do.
Like everything in life, there are many changes. I have changed. The world has changed. The city has changed. So it’s all a bit disorienting. “Is this the street where I turn? What happened to that landmark building? Why is everything so much bigger and busier than before?”
Despite the changes, there is also an eery sense of familiarity. I’ll be sitting in a coffee shop, looking across the street. And suddenly there arises a feeling of déjà vu. Like I’ve been here before. Which I have, sort of. Years ago, in a completely different way.
Perhaps it’s like that in our relationship with God. It never entirely goes away – that awareness of God’s generous love, being at one with all that is, a peace that tells me all is well and shall be well to the end of time.
Is it like that for you? What lingers in your memory? Is there a sense of belonging that you feel?
“Return to me,” says the LORD.
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“Yet even now …” I love that phrase because it implies that God has called to us before. Whether or not we have listened, that is another matter!
“Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart …” Even now, after all this time. And events and happenings. After days and years have gone by. After marriages and jobs and houses lived in and travels and learnings. And losses. And failings.
“I’m still seeking you,” says the Lord. Still calling you to that place, where I am. Where you may be also.” Won’t you come?
Repentance is our way of coming home. It’s letting go of our resistance. It’s turning back when we’ve gone astray.
It’s making changes, shifting the furniture of our inner lives, re-arranging things, unlocking the door, opening our hearts, so we can receive God’s welcome. Which is always there.
“Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart … rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God ….”
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Now wait! You didn’t think repentance was a one-time thing, did you? Give your life to Christ and suddenly it’s over – one and done?
As we walk with Jesus, we realize there is more we have to offer, and more that Jesus has to claim. So repentance becomes part of who we are. We are people turning to Jesus, growing deeper in his love.
As I think about this, here’s what I’ve come to realize: There are things about my life that are relatively easy to change, and things that are very difficult.
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I do take heart in the knowledge that others before me have changed. Some really famous people. Like the English slave trader, John Newton, who later in life became an abolitionist.
Talk about “Amazing Grace”! That hymn we sing tells the story of his life. And the story of God leading him to a different place. A better place.
Here's an artist’s depiction of the apostle Peter, a leader of Jesus’ disciples. You can see he’s red-faced, distraught, and maybe terribly embarrassed. After claiming to be Jesus’ most loyal friend, he was brought face to face with the truth of his life: Peter folded under pressure.
Sometimes we have to learn who we really are. “Now Lord, where do we go from here?”
Repentance is a hopeful act, one that opens the door to new ways of life and Spirit.
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“Return to me with all your heart …” Because if any change is going to happen it must happen, first of all, in the heart, the very centre of our being.
With all your heart. Because there are parts of ourselves we tend to close off, not allowing God – or anyone else, for that matter – to enter.
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There are parts of ourselves that hurt. We put up walls of protection. There are parts we try to hide. We don’t want anyone to see or know what’s in those undisclosed places.
I’m reminded of that story of the first humans who ate the forbidden fruit. They thought they could keep it a secret.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the coolness of the evening breeze, they went and hid themselves.
They didn’t want to be found. But God sought them anyway. “Where are you?” called the LORD. (Genesis 3:8-9)
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I told you that Joel’s call to repentance is not harsh, but gentle. It’s an invitation rooted in his strong conviction that God is love.
“Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.”
How does Joel know this? It’s not something he invented for himself. One commentator has called it a “creed” of the Hebrew people because, all through history, we find them repeating it over and over again.
When Moses stood before God on the holy mountain, the presence of the LORD passed before him. A voice declared: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness …” (Exodus 34:6)
I can remember singing words to that effect in a choir anthem. Music, I think, gives them enduring power. And so they’re with me, and I never forget.
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In a few moments we’ll share communion. We’ll be together in God’s presence in a very special way.
If there are things you need to confess before God, I invite you to do that. If there are parts of your heart that are still closed tight, impermeable, inaccessible, here is an opportunity to open them to grace and mercy, and the transforming power of God’s Holy Spirit.
“Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart. … Return to the LORD for he is gracious.” Come back to where you’re meant to be. May it be so!