THE DAY OF THE LORD

 Meditation for Friday of the 27^th Week in Ordinary Time
(Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2; Lk 11:15-26)

The Hebrew name Joel (Yo’el) means YAWEH IS GOD. The prophet Joel saw through the evil that threatened his people at that time, the coming of the Lord. Like most end-time messages, the day of the Lord will come as darkness and unbearable to those who already live in the dark. “For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.” His message was hope in the midst of the great evil they were experiencing at that time, since the Lord would come to restore His people. The image of Joel is that of a prophet with a trumpet in his hand to warn the people and prepare them for the coming of the Lord. They were to prepare by repenting of their evil ways in sackcloth and lamentation so that day of the Lord would not become darkness and gloom for them.

Evil will fade away with evil doers! Darkness may put up resistance but it must disappear when the light shines. As Jesus cast out a demon, some people tried to destroy his reputation by accusing Him of casting demons with demons! He proved them wrong and said, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” So, in Jesus we look forward to the fulfilment of the day of the Lord. Those who do not accept Him, who do not follow Him as the way or who malign Him and His teachings, will experience the kind of gloom prophet Joel talked about. Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

Through acts of penance and contrition, let our hearts be swept clean of every evil and darkness. Then, we must take positive steps to follow Jesus, and let our hearts be filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the day of the Lord becomes for us the day of blessing and joy, as we look forward to His final coming. Amen.

St Sergius, pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Friday October 8^th, 2021.
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