Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
(Isaiah 40:1-11)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
What’s it like when God appears? What do you think? The approach of Christmas makes me think about that question a lot. I find it hard to imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt as they waited for the birth of their child, or the shepherds as they encountered the angels, or the magi who would start their journey guided by a mysterious star. It’s hard to imagine because it doesn’t happen very often. Not in that way at least. Oh yes. We believe in the presence of God with us. We speak of seeing God in nature or in the faces of those around us or wherever it is that love is shown. And, yes, God is there. But that’s not quite the same as Mary and Joseph or the shepherds or the magi. Still, I believe that God does appear to us today through more every day kinds of experiences that all of us might have. Through those feelings that come to us that simply tell us that there’s something more; something beyond us; something greater than what we see and touch.
In a way, Isaiah the prophet was discussing this in our reading this morning. As you read verse by verse through this passage, you get a sense of the nature of God, and of how God’s nature impacts our lives – and when God appears to us (even if its only a glimpse through a momentary experience every now and then) we know that we’ve been in God’s presence. We know it because we feel it, and I want to share with you briefly four things that God does in our lives when we have such experiences to tell us that we’re not alone – that God is with us!
When God appears there’s a sense of comfort - a sense of deep and abiding comfort that God is with us no matter what our circumstances might be. Isaiah began today’s passage with the word “Comfort.” “Comfort, o comfort my people ...” God is known to us by that sense of comfort we experience at the most unexpected times. There are many people in the world today who need comfort. Just last week I was at the annual Pine Ridge Memorial Service that’s held here, and there was a whole sanctuary full of people looking for comfort at a time of year when comfort is for many people in short supply. We, of course, are called to offer comfort to those in distress or who live with grief. And when we do that, perhaps we are – just a bit – helping God to appear in the lives of those who have such a need. So we need to do more than just offer comfort – we need to point people to their real source of comfort, and that’s God, because that’s what happens when God appears: there’s a sense of real and deep and abiding comfort, - a “peace that passes all understanding” - regardless of circumstances.
When God appears there’s also a sense of assurance. It does no good to point someone to God unless, in some way, they’re going to be convinced that God will help. And so, in very direct and dramatic ways, God helps those who are in need. That’s not just a possibility. Never point people to God believing that God might help; point them to God believing that God will help. Doubt is fine. We all experience doubt. There are days when our faith is strong, and others when it seems to hang like a thread – but even in the midst of doubt, in those times when God appears in our lives, our doubts vanish and we become convinced – we know! - that God has touched us and will care for us. Life can be a bit of a roller coaster at times – but then, suddenly, God appears. “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain,” Isaiah said. With God, the roller coaster flattens – or at least the ups and downs become bearable – because we know that God is with us through it all. “Then,” Isaiah said, “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” As Isaiah proclaimed, everything else in the world will fade away, “but the word of our God will stand forever.” God doesn’t fail, and when God appears, we know that. When God appears, there is assurance.
When God appears there’s also a sense of strength. Once God appears, we never again doubt the strength of God. Many don’t turn to God because they don’t believe in their hearts that God can help. Whatever problem they’re facing seems so overwhelming that even turning to God seems hopeless. Now, it’s true that God won’t solve all our problems for us. We have to take some responsibility for what’s happening in our lives and how to deal with it. But we are not alone. We have comfort and assurance from God – and God gives us strength as well. We can persevere through all things – not because we are strong but because God gives us strength. Isaiah says that “the Lord God comes with might.”There is power when God appears; there is strength when God appears – and we claim that strength as our own when we face those times (which most of us have surely faced) that we know we can’t get through by our own strength – and yet the strength comes to us, and we do get through. That’s God, I believe. Never doubt the power of God; know instead – without a doubt – that when God appears in your life you will find strength.
And when God appears there’s also a sense of tenderness. God does not come in power to frighten us into submission, but rather with a strength that beckons us and draws us; God comes with a strength tempered by tenderness. God’s desire is that we respond not out of fear but out of love. Tenderness is also in short supply in a lot of people’s lives. Perhaps they’re in abusive relationships; perhaps they’re simply alone in life. There are children all over the world – and I have no doubt in our own communities – who are crying out for tenderness, because they never receive it at home. They need the tenderness of God, but even if we don’t have those same problems – we need the tenderness of God, and divine tenderness is overwhelming! No matter how happy your marriage, no matter how loving your family, no matter how supportive your friends – God’s tenderness is still needed. Isaiah tells us that God “will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them ...” With love, patience, mercy and tenderness, God will care for God’s people.
God doesn’t appear very often – but Advent is about awaiting the day when God will appear – and when that happens comfort and assurance and strength and tenderness will be an every day part of life. But until then – and we don’t know when that will be – we have to look for those moments when God makes appearances in our midst today – and that may not always be obvious. The author and ordained minister Lee Woofenden once wrote that “it’s good to keep in mind that whatever way we may happen to picture or perceive God in our mind, it is not the only way God can appear.” So we’re not looking for appearances right now as much as we’re looking for the comfort and assurance and strength and tenderness that always accompany God – and if you have truly felt those things in a special and inexplicable way at some point in your life, then God has appeared to you. Rejoice in that, because it’s a blessing, and try to find some way to share that blessing with someone else during this Advent and Christmas season, and beyond!
No comments:
Post a Comment