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"When Jesus approached
Jerusalem,
He saw the city and wept over it
...." (Luke 19:41)
Before the
Altar
Centuries before Christ, the
prophet Joel looked around and saw drought, locust
plagues, famine, and destruction at every turn. The land
of Israel was anything but "flowing with milk
and honey." Misery and anguish afflicted the people
of God.
Throughout his prophetic word Joel called the
priests to mourn and lament (1:9, 13). "Let the
priests, the Lord's ministers, weep between the porch and the
altar" (2:17).
The priests were not to
blame for the devastation, but Joel understood
that the Lord responds to their grief and
intercession. "Then the Lord will be zealous for
His land, and will have pity on His people"
(2:18).
Who knows the mind of
God? Who understands His heart? Who can explain
why the tears of the priests should move
Him?
The Lord invited
Israel to "return to Me with all your heart"
(2:12). But in the meantime, the priestly function
-- to stand between God and the people as grieving
mediators -- apparently made a
difference.
In all likelihood, few
of us have read through Joel's prophecy in recent
times. His short book hardly makes priority
reading for New Covenant people. But we should
not dismiss his words too quickly or too
lightly.
The Apostle Peter describes
us
as "a holy priesthood" and "a royal priesthood" (1
Peter 2:5, 9). St. John saw God building
us into a "kingdom of priests" (Revelation 1:6). And it begs
the question: What do priests now do, without burnt
offerings to sacrifice or temple areas to
maintain?
Among their duties,
they weep.
They grieve over a world devastated by
spiritual drought, poverty, oppression, conflict, and destruction.
They lament communities where children are
abandoned, neglected, and abused. They mourn for marriages
and families collapsing under raised
voices, harsh words, cruel taunts
and strained conversations. They stand before the altar
with broken hearts and pray earnestly.
Priests are needed more
than ever.
We are needed, not to
solve the problems but to present them to the
Father with the very same brokenness that
He Himself feels for His fallen children. We are
needed, even when no-one can explain how our
tears move the heart of God.
Our complacency or
exhaustion prefers to avoid the lamentable
realities of our day. Our priestly calling thrusts
us into the fray. "Then the Lord will be zealous
for His land, and will have pity on His
people."
In HOPE -
David
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