Scripture readings:

You Word, O Lord, is a lamp to our feet.

A light to our path.

 

Isaiah 40:1-11

 

This is the Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

 

Reflection:

The God of imagination and possibility.  The God of power and compassion; God hears, God cares and God acts.  The question of course, is how and when will God act?  This is especially the case when we are in a situation that we can’t manage – we might be suffering physically or mentally or we might feel trapped, unable to be free from that which binds us or hurts us.  Sometimes we find ourselves in these situations or places because of our own doing – we have made a mistake, done the wrong thing, made a poor decision, been stubborn or maybe we chose to take a risk that didn’t work out well.  Such is the way with human beings – we are fallible and sometimes, we are foolish.

At other times and situations, things happen that may have been no fault of our own; there was nothing we could have done as an individual to prevent our experience.  Examples of this include physical and mental illness, ageing, death of a loved one, natural disasters, infectious diseases, poverty, trauma, abuse, neglect, war and I could go on and on.

For people in the days of the Old Testament, things happened to you because God made them happen, for a reason.  So if you were suffering or experiencing hardship, then you may be being punished by God for having done something wrong, for having turned your back on God.  We know that in Israel’s history, there were many occasions where the people turned away, abandoned God, YHWH, and worshipped false gods.  This usually happened because God wasn’t responding to them so they believed God wasn’t listening and they would worship a false god instead.  This made YHWH angry and he would punish the people and then they would cry out to him for mercy, God would take pity on them and save them from their suffering and so it went on.  This is where we find ourselves today in the reading from the prophet Isaiah.  The people of Israel are in Babylon, in exile and they are struggling.  They feel God has abandoned them.  God has finally given up on them and they are absolutely without hope – there is no light, there is nothing to look forward to.  They are alone.

Into the midst of their helplessness, suffering and despair the prophet Isaiah speaks of God’s power and compassion for his people.  Exiled in Babylon under a power that is oppressive and harsh, Isaiah affirms that the Hebrew people are being punished for turning their faces away from God, for abandoning YHWH for false gods, for being unfaithful and disobedient.

God has heard their cries of suffering and God cares.  Inescapable judgement will be followed by generous restoration.  The power of the Babylonians will be overthrown by Persia and the Persian leader, Cyrus will allow the Jewish people to return to their homeland.  These are the events of history told by Isaiah that are yet to come.

Isaiah tells the people to remember that God will not forsake them; God is capable of what seems impossible. For the Hebrew people, the wilderness evokes images of the Exodus, a reminder of God’s power as a warrior in the escape from Egypt, as well as his sustenance and care during a time of desolation and homelessness.  YHWH has not forgotten his Covenant with the Jewish people, he will not abandon them.  YHWH is a god of both power and tender compassion.

God is constant and present wherever we are and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.  The same comfort and hope promised to the Hebrew people in Babylon, applies to us here today and throughout time because God’s word stands forever irrespective of how human interpretation might change.

This is reassuring because no matter how the world changes or how we are governed or how technology impacts on what we do, our health, communication and so on … God’s word stands.  No matter what mistakes we make, what experiences we have, how flawed and broken we might be … God doesn’t change.  We are told that all flesh (Hebrew text) is like grass and our trust (Hebrew text) is like flowers in the field – we are temporary, we are unpredictable, we are fragile – not just in our bodies, but in knowing who we are. Our true self is of God and belongs to God.

The good news in verse 9 refers to the newness we can look forward to by having faith and hope in a God that hears us, that cares and who acts.  In the midst of crisis and hopelessness, there is new possibility that can found only through the divine intervention of God.  For the Israelites in Babylon, this good news, this new thing that is coming, will be the dismantling of the Babylonian power and the rise of Cyrus of Persia who will free the Jewish people and allow them to return to their homeland.  Cyrus will be summoned by YHWH, a human agent to accomplish God’s divine purpose.  Nothing is by chance and all things are possible.  God does not abandon his people. Raise your voices and proclaim the glory of God.

The good news of Advent is the coming into human life of the God who makes all things new and all things possible.  God comes in Jesus, the Compassion, the Forgiveness and the present and living power of God.  We are asked to reflect on all that God has done, the things that have come to pass and to do what God asks of us – to open our hearts to one another, to tear down the walls of fear and force that separate us, and to work with God to make all things new and possible.  God is truly a god of both grace and power.  Glory be to God.  Amen.