Joel is considered
a minor prophet and his short book, only 73 verses in total, falls between
Hosea and Amos in the Hebrew Scriptures. He very rarely comes up in the common
lectionary and, when he does, it’s usually only 17 verses, from the middle of
the letter, on Ash Wednesday. I’m fairly certain we usually use the reading
from Isaiah though so it’s more than likely Joel never comes up. Even today’s
reading spans only 7 verses near the end of the document.
However rare it
is, Joel is a perfect reading for today and it’s too bad we didn’t read the
letter in full. The book of Joel describes a harrowing tale of an ecological
disaster in the land of Judah. The prophet speaks of drought in the land, a
plague of locusts, and complete agricultural ruin!
The entire first
chapter is a lament to God, crying out for answers to the questions “Why is
this happening? God, how are you letting this happen?” Locusts! Drought! Fires!
Farmers are lamenting the demise of different harvests of crops and trees, and
even the animals are lamenting at the loss of grain and pasture. The earth was stripped
of vegetation and the animals were starving. Verses 11-12 describe the failure
of grapevines, wheat, barley and palm, fig, apple and pomegranate trees. In
verse 17, the community loses all of the seed for the next harvest. In verse
18, the starving animals wander about desperately seeking pasture that no
longer exists.
But then, in comes
chapter 2! Here is the call to action! In 2:15, Joel is calling his community
to gather in worship and prayer, to return to ritual, and to remember their covenant
with God. “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly” is
a call to everyone - all the people in general, then specifically the elderly,
children, breast-feeding babies (and their nursing mothers carrying them),
bride, bridegroom, and all the clergy. Joel calls the community to a liturgical
response to the catastrophe, and reminds the people that God is their liberator
and provider, and that in their covenantal relationship with God, there is a
promise of restoration. Joel pleads for people to reorient themselves to God
during these rough times. God is our stronghold and refuge when trouble overwhelms
us.
Our reading today
begins “Do not fear” (where have we heard that before?) “Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!”
Be glad and
rejoice? The Lord has done great things? How can Joel say this? Didn’t God just
destroy everything?! This is why context matters. Back up a couple of lines and
you’ll see that God responded to the cries of his creation. Joel called the
community to the ritual of prayer and God heard. Not only did he hear, but he
responded. God began to restore the earth, and with her the agricultural,
economic, and nutritional being of God’s people. The promise of rain, bringing
with it sprouts of new grain, grapes, and olives in abundance is most
meaningful in the context of the locust infestation and subsequent agricultural
and economic collapse. There was joy in the community once again as God
returned harmony to creation by providing and protecting. Once again, the
fields will be green, the trees will bear fruit, and the animals will be fed
and full.
The restoration of
the agriculture and economic base in the second chapter of Joel was
accomplished by more than an act of God. The people cleared, planted, and
harvested the fields, vineyards, and orchards. This is an important reminder
lest we think that all we are called to do is to close ourselves up in our churches
and pray. We must also work with God in and on the earth.
Now, not all of us
are designed to do that work. I am a born and bred city kid who knows next to
nothing about agriculture despite having worked for a seed company for 15
years. I have a cactus in my office because I can’t manage to keep a plant alive.
I, and many others, rely on farmers to put food on my table. And that is part
of what we are celebrating here today. But before we celebrate, I want to talk
about why I said that this letter from the Prophet Joel was a perfect reading
for today.
We are in the middle
of our own ecological disaster. Climate change is real. It might seem far away
to a city-slicker like me, but for our farming communities, it is happening and
it's global.
Climate
change hits our food production system in four ways – through temperature,
water, extreme weather, and carbon dioxide. Most of us feel the effects of temperature
changes first. So do the crops. Production of staples like corn, soybeans, and
cotton are projected to increase at first, then decrease sharply as the average
growing season temperature keeps getting warmer. For corn alone, it could mean
a decrease of 3% in yield or more than 300 million bushels. That's enough corn
to feed 40 million people!
And it's not just
crops. Livestock suffer in the heat. Heat related stress means fewer animal
pregnancies, less milk production, and longer times for livestock to reach
market weight.
Does anything
benefit from the heat? Yes, pests! The ones that live on our livestock, that
means more diseases spread by insects. It's already happened in northern Europe.
As the region has warmed, the bluetongue virus has moved north, killing more of
these animals each year. Widespread disease could hit crops like corn, too, as the
heat-loving earworm spreads north to the upper Midwest and heat-tolerant
viruses finish off weakened plants.
As climate change
effects water, a dry climate means less production and more pests. Water has a
complicated relationship with crops. It's all about the right amount at the
right time. Too much early on, stunts growth. Too little later on, does the
same. Irrigation systems keep the balance, but their sources may dry up as
droughts increase. Droughts can be brought on by more erratic rainfall, part of
a pattern of increasingly extreme weather events. And when extreme weather
brings violent downpours, there's another issue – soil erosion and runoff
increase.
All these pieces
of the climate puzzle effect crops and livestock in key moments in their
development, turning even a productive season into a disaster. We're already
seeing a rise in extreme weather that has been causing flooding, droughts,
fires, shortened growing seasons, and more. All of these weather events cost
entire lives, homes, and livelihoods in mere moments, and have long-term effects
for everyone.
We have failed as
stewards of God’s creation. But, as we know, God is a God of second chances.
Joel imagined a world in which rain fell as it should, harvests were plentiful,
and animal bellies were full. I’m sure it is something we are all dreaming for
as well. Joel’s call to his community to reorient themselves to God, to return
to the ritual of prayer and thanksgiving, this is a call to us, as well. That
is what we are doing today. We are doing rituals of thanksgiving and prayer,
blessing seeds for a fruitful harvest, and praying for our farmers for a successful
year. As Steve Bell sings,
“For those who go
out weeping
Carrying heavy
bags of seed
There’s a joy that
harvest brings
They will come
back singing songs of joy
And bearing golden
sheaves
There’s a joy that
harvest brings
And it is said
among the nations
That the Lord has done great things!”
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