Days of Darkness and Gloom
Homily for Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
The Lectionary for Daily Mass provides us with a reading from the prophet Joel for this Friday in Ordinary Time. His prophecy announces that a day of darkness and gloom has struck Israel. In order to completely understand this prophecy, a little background is necessary.
Tragedy had struck Israel; Israel was suffering a catastrophe of immense proportions. Locusts had devoured everything. There was no wine or oil for the vines have been stripped. The fig trees were bare. The wheat and barley fields had been ruined. The pomegranate, date, and apple trees had dried up and yielded no fruit. There was absolutely nothing to eat for anyone. What does Joel tell the people to do in this situation? What kind of hope does he provide for the children of Israel? He writes: “Gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, go into the house of the LORD, your God, and cry out to the LORD!”
In response to this reading, the Church asks us to pray a few verses from Psalm 9. This Psalm reminds us that despite this or any dire situation, God is still enthroned in heaven and will come with justice for the world. Justice will be done. Those who have obeyed the Word of God are told to exult in their God and sing songs of thanksgiving.
Whenever we hear the word “justice” in the Hebrew Scriptures, we are tempted to think of it in terms of a trial with a judge and a jury. However, justice in the context of everyday life is essentially giving to the other what is his or her due. What is due to nations that practice wickedness? Destruction. What is due to the people who obey God’s commandments, respect and love from their fellow human beings. Sadly, to love others and practice justice, we are sometimes afflicted with suffering because not everyone wants to give to others what is due to them. There have always been those who turn away from justice and act selfishly.
I think most of us, perhaps all of us, have never known the situation in which the people of Israel find themselves at the time of Joel. We have been blessed with plenty, with abundance. However, we have also known days of darkness and gloom. For most of the 20th century, the world was at war with their neighbors. The Covid pandemic was and is still threatening us, making it difficult for us to share our lives with one another. Today there are two separate wars that are capturing our attention and many about which we do not know. Humanity has not learned how to live with one another in peace. The national debt in our own country continues to rise so much so that the interest on that debt is threatening our economy. Our response to these dark days must be the same as the advice that Joel gave to the children of Israel. God is on the throne of heaven. God will prevail. So, we must also sing songs of thanksgiving and treat our brothers and sisters with justice – giving them what is due to them as children of God.
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