Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Cor. 5:20b—6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The season of Lent begins this Ash Wednesday when we are invited to remember our mortality: we come from the ground, and to the ground, we shall return. We are also invited to be seen by the One we can’t see. He does not see us the way the world does. He can see what the world cannot (Matthew 6:1, 6, 18).
The prophet Joel speaks about the day of the Lord or reckoning if you will (2:1-2). It could be a day of deep gloom. It, however, does not need to be. God invites us not to tear our garments in anguish or despair but into the rending of our hardness of heart (13).
Paul sincerely wishes for the church in Corinth to be reconciled with God through Jesus Christ (5:20b-21). This reconciliation has the power to radically transform the believer’s heart, stopping in their tracks the opposing forces separating them from God. The result is a divine invitation to join him in the community of sinners made servants of God (6:4). They will receive courage and strength in ways the world cannot give despite the challenges and hardships these servants may face (5-10).
The psalmist pleads:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit (Psalm 51:10-12).”
Bridging Faith 