The passage
for the Second Sunday of Advent was Isaiah 40:1-11.
Read it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? search=Isaiah+40%3A1-11&version=NRSV
The prophet
Isaiah is speaking comfort to his people after their holy city had been
destroyed.
The
congregation called out what came to mind when they heard the word “comfort”:
Tomato soup and grilled cheese; a hug; a soft pillow; sitting in an easy chair
on Sunday afternoon, watching football.
Nice….
I then pointed
out that the comfort Isaiah was bringing was forgiveness for the sins of the
Israelite people.
I also
mentioned the “comfort zone” is not always the learning zone. We learn the most
when we are not comfortable! When we face the reality that we live in constant
tension between what we long for and what is, who we are and who we could be,
what we want and what God wants – that’s very uncomfortable. But that raw and
vulnerable, honest place is where we get closest to God.
We then read
the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism together, written in 1563:
“What is your
only comfort in life and in death?”
“That I am not
my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my
faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his
precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the
devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my
heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must
work together for my salvation.
Therefore, by
his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily
willing and ready from now on to live for him.”
That is our only comfort in life and in death: Jesus.
He is our way
out of sin and its painful consequences, and out of our comfort zone, into a
new, deep, purposeful life.
Someone said
“comfort is a word with muscle.” I like that! Comfort is not just soft and warm
and fuzzy, but strong and powerful. When you find comfort in Jesus, you can do
anything Jesus wants you to.
Advent
is an opportunity for us to prepare ourselves for Jesus to come into our lives
and change us. Advent acknowledges the fact that life is not all pretty and
peaceful as we wish it would be – at least on Christmas! Sugarcoating and
denying that life is tough and that we are not always the good people we
pretend to be, does not move us forward. What will move is forward is facing
that grim reality, that we are not always good and life is not always good, and
trudging through it. With Jesus. Then we will fully get to experience the
comfort and joy that Christmas brings.
Thanks
be to God for comfort food, comfy furniture, and the comfort of a friend or
family member’s love.
If
you like music, listen to our passage from Isaiah, beautifully sung in George
Frideric Handel’s Messiah:
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