Devotional 12-2-20

 Please read Isaiah 40: 1-11

Isaiah 40:1-11 (New Revised Standard Version)

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;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,[b]
    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.

What will we do with Advent this year?  Many of my “usual” preparations just won’t work right now. Much of those usual things have to do with setting the scene for Christmas: decorating the sanctuary with the Chrismon Trees, adding lights and candles, watching as the Advent Wreath is lighted; putting up Nativities; listening for certain Advent hymns with their words of expectation; rehearsing, singing, and listening to the music of the season; experiencing the joy of the church family together in worship and social get-togethers; and preparations of our homes for family and friends.  

I must confess that I have spent too much time and energy fretting over what I have been missing during this long season of COVID-19. I’m mourning what was and frustrated that what I think “should be” just isn’t safely possible this year. Sometimes I feel like throwing myself a grand pity-party. 

I am reading Isaiah 40 with a different appreciation for how Isaiah addressed the people of Israel. I am whining about the things I am missing, but then realize how the people of Israel were enduring exile. They were enslaved in a foreign land. They were separated from family, friends, and community.  They didn’t realize just how much they missed their Temple in Jerusalem until they could not go there for worship. Absence made their hearts grow fonder and, in that separation, many began to realize the sin of their past, discovering that they had taken God and their special relationship with God for granted. 

The 40th Chapter of Isaiah begins a new message for those exiled people. Isaiah offers from God words of comfort, assurance, and hope. A return is coming. The assurance and love are offered along with some words of caution. The people will not return to the way things were before they left. Getting back to their home will take some hard work and effort. The way through the wilderness won’t be a “walk in the park” but a physical and spiritual journey with God through the desert way, through the  valleys, over the mountains, and into that place where the glory of the Lord will be revealed.  Through it all, God will lead them.  Like a shepherd, God will gather them together in arms of love to care and feed them.  It is a glorious vision of restoration and wholeness. 

These great words Isaiah bring comfort, preparation, assurance, and promise to a troubled people. As people of faith, we understand that Isaiah spoke not only to the people in exile, but to the people longing for the coming of their Christ, and even to us in all the situations we face in this day and time. Hear these words of the 40th Chapter as Isaiah speaks particularly to us.

I still do not know exactly how we will make our Advent preparations this year. It will look and feel differently than it has in the past.  I will try to spend more time this Advent preparing, not so much with external decorations or the season’s usual traditions, but with the faith-filled ways of the journey home from exile.  I will try to hear the words of scripture and music differently because my ears and heart are longing for something more. I will try to appreciate the journey to Bethlehem differently because of the mountains, valleys, and deserts we know these days. I will try to wait differently-- more expectantly, more hopefully-- this year because I am learning new meanings of patience and hope.  I will try to worry less and celebrate more as the reality of God’s amazing gift of Christ with us becomes ever more real.  

Alberto Taulé, a Catalonian hymn writer, has offered his understanding of Isaiah’s words with the hymn, “Toda la Tierra/All Earth Is Waiting.”  (We don’t sing it often, but it is found in the UMH on page 210.)

Rev. Dr. Mark Conner