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Comfort
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
2 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.
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 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.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 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!”
10 See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 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.
COMFORT
Comfort, comfort my people. There is a time of year for comfort: comfort food like stews, sauces, baked goods and almost anything you can make out of a potato. If you go to the grocery store in the month of December, prepare to be met by an onslaught of holiday cheer. All of the things that just last month were flavored with pumpkin spice are now miraculously recreated with peppermint, cocoa and various sorts of sprinkle. Stores selling fuzzy socks and slippers and wool and the world offering so many versions of twinkle lights and nostalgic holiday activities. And I have to say, I’ve been feeling the need for some comfort this year. Can I get an “amen?”
I talk to people about how they are doing and the conversation often takes a turn back to the world and all that is happening. These are not easy times we live in, with the nation and the choices being made about our common life together and what it will mean for the rich and the poor and the bitterness that fills our deep divides. These are not easy times we live in. In our world and the ways that move for war when peace holds fragilely and provocation leads to threats of violence. Even reading the text this week saying, “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” I wanted to say, “Maybe our country should just stop talking about Jerusalem.” These are not easy times we live in as week by week we have revealed what once was hidden and now need to grapple again with truth that isn’t new but feels new to us. These are not easy times we live in. Even in just a single human life that include illness and worry and the bank accounts that are too low and loved ones whose grief pulls on our hearts.
These are not easy times we live in and sometimes it just feels too much, sometimes you want to escape to a place that is simpler, easier, lighter, softer and maybe includes a toasted white chocolate marshmallow mocha because I keep searching for the thing that will make me feel at ease in a world that isn’t easy. And goodness knows there are plenty of stores that would like to sell me just the thing as somehow a cupcake, a car, a spa day, a vacation, there is that thing that will allow me to escape from this world of trouble into a place of e
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By First Congregational Church, BellevueIsaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
2 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.
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 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.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 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!”
10 See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 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.
COMFORT
Comfort, comfort my people. There is a time of year for comfort: comfort food like stews, sauces, baked goods and almost anything you can make out of a potato. If you go to the grocery store in the month of December, prepare to be met by an onslaught of holiday cheer. All of the things that just last month were flavored with pumpkin spice are now miraculously recreated with peppermint, cocoa and various sorts of sprinkle. Stores selling fuzzy socks and slippers and wool and the world offering so many versions of twinkle lights and nostalgic holiday activities. And I have to say, I’ve been feeling the need for some comfort this year. Can I get an “amen?”
I talk to people about how they are doing and the conversation often takes a turn back to the world and all that is happening. These are not easy times we live in, with the nation and the choices being made about our common life together and what it will mean for the rich and the poor and the bitterness that fills our deep divides. These are not easy times we live in. In our world and the ways that move for war when peace holds fragilely and provocation leads to threats of violence. Even reading the text this week saying, “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” I wanted to say, “Maybe our country should just stop talking about Jerusalem.” These are not easy times we live in as week by week we have revealed what once was hidden and now need to grapple again with truth that isn’t new but feels new to us. These are not easy times we live in. Even in just a single human life that include illness and worry and the bank accounts that are too low and loved ones whose grief pulls on our hearts.
These are not easy times we live in and sometimes it just feels too much, sometimes you want to escape to a place that is simpler, easier, lighter, softer and maybe includes a toasted white chocolate marshmallow mocha because I keep searching for the thing that will make me feel at ease in a world that isn’t easy. And goodness knows there are plenty of stores that would like to sell me just the thing as somehow a cupcake, a car, a spa day, a vacation, there is that thing that will allow me to escape from this world of trouble into a place of e