As we move into February, we find that the Church’s penitential
season of Lent is rapidly approaching. Ash Wednesday is February
17, and then we press ahead to the joyful culmination of Easter on
April 4. This year, our sermon theme through the Lent Midweek
Services will be “Return to the Lord Your God.”
This theme is drawn from the Old Testament Reading for Ash
Wednesday, Joel 2:12-19, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return
to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with
mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to
the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who
knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing
behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your
God? Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn
assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble
the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the
bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. Between the
vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord,
weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your
heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they
say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Then the Lord became
jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The Lord answered
and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine,
and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a
reproach among the nations.”
In the Book of Joel, the prophet paints a vivid picture of the coming judgment of God, the Day of the
Lord. The imagery is bold and terrifying: hordes of locusts swarming over the land and decimating everything. Joel’s prophecy has teeth even today as wars rage, natural disasters threaten and destroy, and our
culture seems to be unraveling. But right in the middle of this frightening warning, we find a tender invitation from the Lord: “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster” (Joel 2:13). God’s invitation and promise finds
its fullness in Jesus Christ, who personifies and accomplishes all that God declares. During this season
of Lent, we will consider the theme “Return to the Lord” and examine how the call to return played out
in practical ways for the people who walked alongside Christ as He demonstrated and carried out God’s
grace and mercy on our behalf, taking God’s wrath upon Himself, setting the stage for God to “turn and
relent, and leave a blessing behind Him” (Joel 2:14).
Each week during the Lent Midweek Service, the sermon will feature a theme of “Return.” These exhortations include:
Ash Wednesday: “A Call to Return”
Lent Midweek 1: “Return to Prayer”
Lent Midweek 2: “Return from Betrayal”
Lent Midweek 3: “Return from False Witness”
Lent Midweek 4: “Return from Denial”
Lent Midweek 5: “Return from the Kingdom of God”
Maundy Thursday: “Return to the Table”
Good Friday: “Return to the Truth”
Each sermon in this series focuses on a particular event in the Passion, with a special focus on the people
involved in the event. Studying the events and people helps to connect the hearers with their own sinful
nature, to emphasize how we have turned away from the Lord, and to reinforce and rejoice in God’s call
for us to return to Him with all our heart.
Of course, the call to “Return” is particularly interesting this Lent. It has been almost exactly one year
since the Covid plague began to hit in the United States, and it was during Lent last year that Zion
moved on online-only services for a matter of a few months. Since that time, we have been able to
“return” to in person worship, and different people have different comfort zones as to how they participate. But, as we approach the one year mark of Covid fears, we need to remember that at some point, we
all need to “return.” We need to return to worship in God’s house. While digital participation in a worship service is better than no participation in a service, there is no substitute for being together with
God’s people in His house, receiving His gifts. The time will come to “return.” I hope it is soon.
So, as we move into Lent, we focus on these words of our Lord: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”
This Lent, and at any time, we look forward to seeing you “Return to the Lord your God” by joining in
worship in His house. God’s peace be with you.
In Christ,
Pastor Clayton
Leave a Reply