“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem….” (Isaiah 40:1, 2)
The first Sunday of Advent we cried out Come! Let your Presence intervene in our world, and ignite a chain reaction that reveals your power and holiness, leads to repentance, and reminds that you are Yahweh, Father, and Potter.
This second Sunday of Advent we cry, Comfort! This word of comfort from Isaiah was spoken first to exiled Israel, a people uprooted from home, shaken by tragedy, and thrown into an extended disruption of their identity, purpose and hope. Thousands of years later, in the midst of our own experience of disruption, we are in need of God’s Presence again to “speak tenderly” to our homes, cities, nation, and world.
God has spoken/is speaking/will speak that comfort through his Final Word:
He spoke the Incarnation
And so was born the Son
His Final Word was Jesus
He needed no other one
Spoke flesh and blood so he could bleed
And make a way Divine
And so was born the baby
Who would die to make it mine
(“The Final Word” by Michael Card)
The “it” in these lyrics is the comfort that comes from the Father’s heart – forgiveness through Jesus that creates space in our lives to receive His grace within the disruption. And his grace redeems, restores, and recreates. Let’s pray for God’s comfort to come.
Remember that each Tuesday in Advent you’re invited to join me at noon via Zoom for Midday Prayer and a time of guided intercession. (Click https://tinyurl.com/IAC-Advent-Midday-Prayer and use the password “Advent.”)
Each Thursday in Advent you’re invited to join me at 8:00pm via Zoom for Compline and another time of guided intercession. (Click https://tinyurl.com/IAC-Advent-Compline and use the password “Advent.”)
These additional two times of prayer also give us the opportunity to see faces and hear voices, engaging with each other in this time when we’re all longing for more connection. Please join us! Click here to find the Advent Prayer Guide.
Your Pastor in Christ,
Travis+
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