Advent & Lentions by Goshen College studentsm facyltym and staff "To Comfort" by Bobby Switzer, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry and peace, justice and conflict studies double major from Berne, Indiana for Tuesdaym 2 December 2014

Advent & Lentions by Goshen College studentsm facyltym and staff "To Comfort" by Bobby Switzer, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry and peace, justice and conflict studies double major from Berne, Indiana for Tuesdaym 2 December 2014

To Comfort by Bobby Switzer, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry and peace, justice and conflict studies double major from Berne, Indiana SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 40: Prepare for God’s Arrival 1-2 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,”     says your God. “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,     but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence,     that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough,     and now it’s over and done with.” 3-5 Thunder in the desert!     “Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road straight and smooth,     a highway fit for our God. Fill in the valleys,     level off the hills, Smooth out the ruts,     clear out the rocks. Then God’s bright glory will shine     and everyone will see it.     Yes. Just as God has said.” 6-8 A voice says, “Shout!”     I said, “What shall I shout?” “These people are nothing but grass,     their love fragile as wildflowers. The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,     if God so much as puffs on them.     Aren’t these people just so much grass? True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,     but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.” 9-11 Climb a high mountain, Zion.     You’re the preacher of good news. Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.     You’re the preacher of good news.     Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid! Tell the cities of Judah,     “Look! Your God!” Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power,     ready to go into action. He is going to pay back his enemies     and reward those who have loved him. Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock,     gathering the lambs in his arms, Hugging them as he carries them,     leading the nursing ewes to good pasture. (The Message) DEVOTIONAL: After the St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, the nation erupted in protest. Anger from a weariness of systemic injustice manifested in rallies, marches and outrage. People are angry. People are tired. People are oppressed. The world appears to be stuck in cycles of violence that spiral continuously, no matter who is speaking against them. For those speaking for peace, it often feels as if our voices fail to reach the ears of those who most need to hear them. I can imagine that the prophet Isaiah felt the same with his messages of repentance to the people of Israel, and yet, he kept speaking. Isaiah’s message is still true today. He called the people of Israel to comfort. To comfort is our directive. The world is hurting. The world is grieving. We are called to console those in distress. The power of God, both vast and unimaginable, is as the prophet alludes, revealed in tenderness and comfort. Ours is a God who tends to us as a shepherd to sheep. When we comfort those in grief, we chip away at the cycle of violence and begin the transformation of our world into the world of shalom. We say to those hurting, “I can not know all your pain, but I will help you bear it. I am here for you.” We offer our bodies and our voices to undoing of the injustice that leads to their pain. In answering Isaiah’s call, we must prepare the way in this wild world for God’s kingdom, a kingdom defined not by power-over, but rather, by the ways we relate and the ways we share each others’ burdens, and comforting is a step in constructing this kingdom. SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 40: God’s People Are Comforted 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 for ever. 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. The post To Comfort appeared first on Devotions.[New Revised Standard Version]

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