The Second Sunday of Advent
Sunday 10 December 2017
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Isaiah 40:1-11 (NRSV)
“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.
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Whenever I read this passage, Handel rings out in my soul. The prophet longs for the comforting presence that transforms the life of the people of God. There is tenderness in this to be sure, but there is passion and power. God is acknowledged to be the one who can smooth out and straighten the paths on which we travel. God is capable of bringing us safely through all that holds risks that threaten us. This Advent we do well to remeber that vision and cling to the promises of the vision.
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Fr. Timothy Alleman
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