Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart
Joel is a short book, only three chapters. It includes some pithy, oft-repeated bits. “Rend your hearts and not your clothing”. “Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young man shall see visions”. And through the book, God speaks to and through Joel, offering comfort after a disastrous plague of locusts. I am struck by the devastation of such a plague on a community reliant on food from the fields. In this pandemic era, I find my grocery store shelves emptier than normal. I cannot find precisely what I’m looking for. Never mind that there are dozens of other kinds of whatever it is. It’s absurd, but I feel a sense of scarcity I’ve never had, when I see shelves that aren’t overflowing with options. How horrid if your only food source is the field behind your home, and the locusts have destroyed it. I throw up a prayer for anyone living with that kind of food insecurity.
The accompanying reflection for Joel is written by Henri Nouwen, a modern-day theologian. He discusses the practice of people seeking ancient desert mothers and fathers. They’d seek them out, and ask, “Do you have a word for me?” Their response often provided the three common meanings of the “word”. The first was the living word of God, through Jesus Christ. Second, they sought the written word, or Scripture, and finally the spoken word, heard from prophets to one’s heart. Nouwen offers a fourth definition, the written word. He offers that the written word encourages us to hear and recognize God’s word in our lives.
I love this, as it breaks open my rather limited thinking about language. In any given day, we all encounter God’s word in a multitude of ways, and Nouwen has provided language for those differences. I read, listen and write about scripture. And for me, the writing absolutely helps me integrate what I’m reading. In stillness, sometimes I hear God’s word speaking to my heart. I likely need to build in more silence and opportunities to just listen.
I am honestly not a fan of writing or journaling. I’ve tried to keep journals over the years, and I never had the motivation to keep going. But writing in response to what I’m reading in Scripture feels very different. It feels like a conversation in my soul, and I have a desire to respond to what I’ve read. Often it feels like Jacob’s wrestling with God, and sometimes it’s just a quiet conversation with friends. But to imagine that it’s another definition of God’s Word, that makes it special.
This morning, I’m thinking about God’s word, as experienced as the read, spoken, heard, and written word. I’m grateful for the persistence to continue, even through the bits of scripture that feel more like I’m wrestling with God.
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