000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

280 Proper 25 [30]/Year C
shall eat in plenty and be satisfied . . . and my people shall never again be
put to shame” (2:26). Our reading begins with YHWH’s promise: “Then
afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young
men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days,
I will pour out my spirit” (vv. 28–29).
“Afterward” refers to some future time that Joel does not specify. He
has just promised (2:27) that the people Israel “shall know that I am in the
midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other.”
Verses 28–29 expand the promise into one with universal scope: “all flesh,”
not just all Israel. This is in keeping with the original promise to Abraham
and Sarah and their descendants that in them all the Gentiles would
be blessed. We note the all-inclusive character of this promise in Joel in
other respects as well: sons and daughters, old men and young men, male
and female slaves—on all of them God will pour out God’s spirit.
God’s spirit (ruach YHWH) is not just any spirit. The term “spirit” is
free-floating and can refer just as well to the spirit of the Delta Chi sorority
as to the spirit of the Nazi party. “Spirit” is always defined by what follows
the “of.” The spirit of the Lord is the spirit of the God of considerate
justice. Usually biblical scholars associate spirit with “power,” specifically
the power to do impressive deeds or to prophesy. Yet spirit is more than
power; it is the union of power with meaning. Understanding the meaning
is good, but having the spirit or heart to act it out is also available from
God as gracious gift. Power separate from meaning is chaotic.
In this future time, Joel comments: “. . . everyone who calls on the name
of the LORD shall be saved” (v. 32). His reference is to those who will be
saved from some future calamity, a calamity that he does not identify, and
it is a promise to the people Israel—in Mount Zion and Jerusalem there
will be survivors (v. 32b).
Today’s reading is quoted extensively in Acts 2:14–21, Peter’s sermon
at Pentecost. Unfortunately the sermon manifests the theology of accusation,
twice accusing the “men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem” of
having crucified Jesus (2:23, 36). This is a major theme of the early section
of Acts, repeated in 3:13 and 4:10. It is immensely sad that the precious
gift of Jesus Christ to the church, a gift that would not have been
possible apart from the people Israel in whom Jesus took shape, is received
in a spirit of hostility.
That this spirit involves a good bit of theological distortion is evident
when we note that Acts 2:21 quotes Joel 2:32: “Then everyone who calls
on the name [YHWH] of the Lord shall be saved.” Yet in Acts 4:11–12 we