This is the second Sunday now in the church season of Advent, as we celebrate the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The word “Advent” means that someone is coming, or arriving.
There are many ideas of what will happen when Jesus comes. I suppose most kids in America identify the coming of Jesus with the opening of Christmas presents. That’s awful nice. Many people in Jesus’ time figured that when the Messiah came he would bring military victories. That would be helpful, at least for those who won those victories. In the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah’s, time the people probably had mixed feelings. They had turned away from their God and as they went their own way they got themselves lost. They sort of hoped that God would reveal himself to them in a new way, guide them out of their mess. But what would the coming of God be like? Would he be mad? Isaiah had warned them that there were severe consequences for disobeying God. But was that the final word? Was it hopeless? Had they sinned so much that God had given up on them and wouldn’t care about them anymore? Well, God revealed beautiful things to Isaiah from his heart. Sure, there were warnings about their sins. But God spoke beautiful words of hope through Isaiah as well, words which found their fulfillment when Jesus was born. Now let me read for you Isaiah 40:1-11.
“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.”
How did the passage begin? Comfort my people, says your God. When Jesus did finally come and launch into his ministry, it wasn’t always comfortable to be around him. If you were determined to be dishonest, to abuse other people, to cover up your sin, he could be pretty hard on you. He did his best to bring those folks back to their senses.
But for so many people, his ministry brought comfort. For the weak, the lonely, those who were sorry for their sins, the poor, the oppressed, those who were grieving, he brought comfort.
I learned this week that the Hebrew word which our Bible translates properly as the verb, “comfort,” comes from a root word with the meaning of “taking a deep breathe.”
Have you ever had one of those hectic days? People bug you. You are racing against the clock. You get home tense and exhausted. You sit back in your chair, tense for a moment, and then you take a deep breath in and out, and you relax. And finally you’re comfortable. We need that so much.
Or you are afraid and someone takes you in their arms and you relax and take those deep breaths? Or you are hurting so badly because a loved one has died. All your emotions are raw and frayed. And someone just listens, they understand, they accept you as ragged as you are. And you can let out the deep breath that you’ve been holding so tightly. You can go ahhhhh.
Let that comfort be your image for what God wants to do for his people. Let that comfort be your image for what God wants to do for you. He comes to hold us so that we can breathe out those deep and painful things. He comes to set us free of our burdens so that we can love and serve others.
Then let’s jump down to verse eleven, where we find three beautiful images of how God cares for his people.
First, “he will feed his flock like a shepherd.” Do you remember the day that the huge crowd went out to Jesus when he was in a very remote place? They listened to him teach all day. It was a long way home before they could get their suppers. And what did Jesus do? He took just a few loaves of bread and a few fish and he multiplied them and he fed the whole crowd. Can you feel the compassion in that? He feeds his sheep.
In a few minutes we’ll be celebrating the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which he gave us. And what did he say as he told his disciples to take the bread? He said, “Take, eat, this is my body, given for you.” He feeds us spiritually by his very own self. Sure we receive slight nourishment from the bread and the grape juice themselves. But we believe that when we receive those elements in faith we are also being fed by the very Spirit of God, coming inside of us, filling us, renewing us, refreshing us, comforting us. He feeds his flock like a good shepherd.
The second image is that he will gather his lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom. Lambs are carried because they aren’t strong enough to keep up with the pace by themselves. Is anyone here struggling to keep up with the pace? We’ve got Christmas decorations to do, Christmas cards to do, shopping to do, visits and parties to do, cooking to do. You don’t have the church bazaar to worry about anymore, but there’s still so much. Can we rest back into his arms, and just say, “Lord, maybe I can’t do all I feel like the flock is pushing me to do. Can you just carry me for a while? Can I slow down, can I skip some of the small stuff, can I press close to you and trust that it will be OK?” Can you let him hold you in his arms? Sometimes we wiggle and pull away.
And then, for the third image, Isaiah says that he will gently lead the mother sheep. Can you picture the mother sheep struggling to keep up with the flock? Maybe she’s still weak from delivering her lambs or the work of nursing them. Maybe she has to slow down to a pace that they can handle. Some shepherds might yell at them and throw stones at them or whack them with their sticks to push them to keep up. But when God shepherds his people, he gently leads those who are with young.
Sometimes parents of young children are going through the most hectic time of their lives, pushing, racing, running here and there. Sometimes we push our kids awful hard to squeeze them into that schedule. Let God show you how to live a gentler way to go, a simpler way, a more comforting way.
Well, in a few minutes we’ll be coming forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. What comfort do you need from the Lord today? Are you hungry inside? Do you need to be held and comforted? Do you just plain need to be carried for a while? Do you need him to lead you in a gentler path than you have been making for yourself? As you come, open your heart to him. Let him touch you and guide you to the steps you need to take this week. Let him comfort your soul. AMEN
