Reflections on "God's Desire" Joel 3: 17-21

I never became excited about Joel this week, and the sermon showed that lack of excitement.  Probably the weakest of the minor prophet sermons that I've preached.  Ironically, Joel could probably have similar comments about my sermon that I had about his prophesy!

“God's Desire” FPC, Troy; 8/23/15; Minor prophet series; Joel 3: 17-21

Move 1: there is nothing particularly remarkable about the minor prophet Joel – rather generic prophecy.

a. The name “Joel” is not unique.

1. It means “the Lord is God.” A pretty basic affirmation.
2. No unique spin on who God is.
3. There are many Old Testament characters with that name.

b. Joel is difficult to date.

1. Some date it as early as 9^th century, others as recently as the 2^nd century.
2. No particular time frame mentioned, and dissecting the prophecy does not reveal a particular context in time.
3. You don't read Joel and go he was prophesying just before the fall of Jerusalem or just after the return from exile and point out how Joel's words fit that context.
4. Joel could fit into whatever time period the reader wants.

100. There is the locust disaster, of course.
     1. go back to Chapter 1 and read about it:

We are told; “What the cutting locusts left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.”

1. For those of you who remember the video game Pac-man, the locust portion in Joel reads like a group of Pac-men munching away as they devour the crop.
2. I suppose that is what Joel is known for most.
2. To become ordained as a Presbyterian minister, you have to pass the Bible content exam. Now I think most of the studying is done on-line, and you even take the test on-line.
3. Back when I was in seminary, we would have a few review sessions to prepare for the exam. We were given packet of information about every book in the Bible and certain clues about the different books. The clues were based on what kinds of questions previous tests had had.
For example, if it there was a quote about love, your best guess was 1,2,3 Letters of John; or if there was a question or quote that had light/darkness, your best guess was the Gospel of John.
4. The only thing we learned about Joel was locust. Apparently, there had never been a question about the minor prophet Joel that had included any content besides locust.

6. The only problem with the locust plague is that there is no historical record about some big locust plague that took place so that we could say Joel was prophesying about that.
7. The locust plagues could be metaphorical references to invasions, or actually refer to locust plagues.
8. But the locust plague is not really explored fully. There is no comment on why this disaster had struck.
9. The disaster is not used to attack the lifestyle of God's people or set the stage for a repentance.

500. Joel has little concern with attacking the government or leaders.
     1. Joel does not discuss the ethical responsibilities of the people.

2. . No list of things to do.

3. No strong exhortation to change their ways.

4.w e have read other minor prophets like Amos who call for social justice or minor prophets who have made strong statements about looming destruction or compelling calls for repentance.

5. But not Joel.
6. Joel does not focus on justice, name specific sins, or single out specific people or castes of people for their sins.  Rather, Joel bids the people to turn toward God in repentance and worship. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=256; Rolf Jacobson, Professor of Old Testament Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

Move 2: So why is Joel part of the biblical canon, one fo the minor prophets whose prophesy we preserve and read?

a. Young Adult sports fiction.

Takes me back to summers at my grandmother's house when I would go to the library to read. The air-conditioned library that became our cool place of respite from my grandmother's hot house.

I would sit and read for hours at a time. (and listen to all the gossip of the small town; it seemed like everyone person who came in had to the tell the women at the desk the latest news, and loud enough for everyone to hear!).

Today's young adult sports books have much more ambiguity – divorce, or drugs, or power struggles; and often the end has not clear victor or victory; just some sort of lesson learned. Probably more realistic, but sometimes I have enough real-life and want to read to forget about reality.

But those old sports books I read are much simpler: you meet a main character; the main character has a problem; the problem is overcome, usually by good teamwork or some other good deed; and then there is a rousing victory. The good guys won.

Maybe that' not as realistic to the world in which we live, but I still pull out one of those books to read when I'm feeling down or just want find some certainty in the world, if only for a brief moment.

b. Joel is that book you pull out to read when you are feeling kind of down and need to hear a little word of comfort.

1. When you don't want to hear the trumpet call you to a new life
   or you don't need to be inspired to new heights
   Or you don't really want to challenged by someone pointing out your faults.
2. You read Joel
   c. You read of the locust plague and you connect it to whatever is going on in your life.
   1. Read Joel and are reminded that God's desire is blessing (Gowan, 183).
   2. Read Joel and find comfort in the God who desire that sons and daughters will prophesy, old men have dreams, young men have visions, the God who even connects with male and female slaves.
   d. Joel is about being reminded of God's comfort in a low-key, little pressure way.

Conclusion: Several years ago, a story appeared in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. The story was about a Catholic nun, Sister Helen Merosia, who had taught school in the western Minnesota community of Morris for many years. The story told of Sister Helen’s remembrance of an especially difficult Friday in 1965 when her students, frustrated by some difficult math problems, became cranky and edgy. So she told them, on a whim, to put the problems aside and take out a clean sheet of paper and make a list of their classmates’ names. Then she told them to think of the kindest thing they could say about each of their classmates. She collected the lists at the end of the period and then took them home. Over the weekend, she wrote the name of each student in the class, one by one, on separate sheets of paper, and then listed for each one all the good things their classmates had written about them. On Monday, she handed the compiled lists back to the students. There were smiles, but no one mentioned the lists again — at least not for several years.

A half dozen years later, in the summer of 1971, Sister Helen learned that one of those students, Mark Eklund, had been killed in Vietnam. His parents called with the news and invited her to come to his funeral. And so she went, and afterward, visited with the family and a group of Mark’s classmates, her old students, at the family home. “We want to show you something,” Mark’s father told her, and he brought out a wallet and took from it a piece of paper. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.” The piece of paper had obviously been folded and refolded many times. It was the paper on which she had written all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him. Mark’s mother thanked Sister Helen, “As you can see, Mark treasured it.” Then some of Mark’s classmates chimed in. “I still have my list,” Charlie said. “It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.” “I have mine, too,” Marilyn said. “It’s in my diary.” Vickie pulled her list from her pocketbook. “I carry this with me at all times,” she said. As told by Michael Lindvall at the Moveable Feast, 1999.