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The Heart of Lent from the Book of Joel He begins with a warning—saying the day of the Lord is near, and it could be a day of what he calls “thick” darkness. Thick because Joel envisions not just a dark sky of clouds, but clouds of locusts. So take whatever dark and stormy day you pictured when you first heard this scripture, and then kick it up a notch with swarms of flying bugs. Joel is describing the devastation of a life separated from the love of God. He is describing the deep darkness of a hardened heart, an unfeeling heart, a heart with all the defences up. Joel 2:12-13"Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." Lent is a season of reflection, repentance, and renewal. It is a time when we prepare our hearts for the resurrection of Christ by turning away from sin and returning to God. The Prophet Joel’s words in chapter 2 provide a powerful framework for understanding the true purpose of Lent. His call to “return to the Lord with all your heart” speaks to the essence of this sacred season. We learn the Call to Return from Joel’s message was given to a people who had strayed from God. He called them to return, not just with outward rituals, but with sincere, heartfelt repentance. Lent is not merely about giving up something for forty days; it is about returning to God with our whole being. Jeremiah 29:13 does remind us "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." To truly return to God means to realign our priorities, refocus our worship, and reset our hearts toward Him. This is not a superficial or temporary shift but a deep and lasting change. A Heart Rend, Not Just Garment of sin in biblical times, tearing one’s clothes was a sign of mourning. But God desires something deeper from us He wants our hearts to be broken and humbled before Him. During Lent, we are reminded that true repentance is not just about external actions but about an internal transformation. In the book of Ezekiel 36:26, we read, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Brethren, tearing garments is visible, but rending the heart is spiritual. It is about removing pride, selfishness, and sin so that we can be fully open to God’s work in our lives. This is where healing begins—when we allow God to shape us from within. We also know the Character of God, gracious and compassionate lent is not just about acknowledging our sins but also about remembering who God is. Joel reminds us that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Our repentance is met not with condemnation but with the open arms of a loving Father. In Lamentations 3:22- 23,"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." God’s mercy is endless. Even in our brokenness, He calls us back, not because we deserve it, but because of His character. This understanding should move us toward repentance, not out of fear, but out of love for the One who never gives up on us. Fasting, weeping, and Mourning are rituals used to Practices of Lent. Joel connects repentance with fasting, weeping, and mourning as practices that draw us closer to God. Fasting is not just about abstaining from food but about creating space for God in our lives. Weeping and mourning are signs of a heart that recognizes the weight of sin and longs for restoration. This season calls us to engage in these disciplines with sincerity. We see in Matthew 6:16-18, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your unseen Father; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Therefore fasting is not about proving our spirituality; it is about humbling ourselves and making room for God’s presence. When we fast with the right heart, it draws us closer to Him and strengthens our spirit. You and I find ourselves at a threshold today. Before us stretches the season of Lent forty days of reflection, repentance, and renewal. Like the people of Israel who once wandered forty years in the wilderness, you and I enter on our own wilderness journeys. Our promised land is the kingdom of God, resurrection life with Christ forever. And because our journey is to a kingdom that transcends time and place, we orient ourselves not by maps but by God’s word, and we travel not across the Sinai Peninsula but in the landscape of our hearts. As we begin this Lenten journey together, remember that the God who seeks to rework us, the God to whom we return is, as Joel reminds us, ‘gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love’ as we read in Joel 2.13. When we turn to God, we turn to the Heavenly Father who already faces us, who has been looking out for us and is waiting for our return. When we walk towards him, Jesus tells us in one of his best-known stories, he will run to meet us on our way and bring us home. This Lent, I invite you to move beyond hard work to heart work. To set aside time each day for that inner work of renewal. To come before God with honesty and vulnerability, asking him for the gift of a heart made clean and a spirit renewed. The ash cross we have received is an outward token of our inward commitment. It shows that we are committed to this journey of inward transformation, the heart work of letting God remake us. Therefore brethren, in conclusion, I call us into authentic repentance as we journey through Lent, let us take Joel’s words to heart. God calls us to return to Him, not just in action but in spirit. May this season be a time of true renewal as we prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter. Let us not merely go through the motions, but truly rend our hearts before the Lord, knowing that He is waiting with grace and love. Amen, God blessed, May you find a sense of re-direction during this lent season.