Second Sunday of Advent

Advent 2, Year B | Isaiah 40:1-11 | December 4th, 2011

(Abridged version of the sermon. Picks up after a brief history of Handel’s “Messiah”. Which you can read all about here.)

The True Nature of Comfort

Listen, just for a moment to a few of Isaiah’s words from that oratorio:

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people

Prepare ye the way

Every valley shall be exalted

Then the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed

Behold your God!

The money from that first performance went in part to the comfort of those in prison. However it was the composer that perhaps received the most comfort. Handel was released from the looming threat of debtor’s prison with this piece of music. His freedom began with the first words of the piece. The words we read from Isaiah this morning themselves describe the freedom of Jerusalem, the salvation of a nation. That salvation begins with one Word. The Word, Christ, living inside the written word of “comfort.”

It is a living commandment to comfort – specifically, the comfort of Jerusalem. Which is sort of surprising. Because Jerusalem is not exactly the hero of Isaiah. They are wicked liars that refuse to repent or listen to any of the prophets. They are the undeserving. And Isaiah is chock full of accounts of Jerusalem’s mistakes. And yet… their salvation is near at hand. With Christ, Israel’s debt has been paid and they are released.

Its a concept that might sound familiar. As children, we can confess our misdoings to our parents, receive a punishment, feel the effects of both repentance and the punishment, then – when all is said and done – receive a hug or . Some semblance of that comfort that comes after sin and repentance.

When a person in our community gets released from jail, their debt to society paid, they do not always receive comfort. Why should they? They’ve done something bad and they got punished. But their salvation, their complete change, is not final until they are comforted. Many of you know how encouraging I’ve been of Grace’s involvement in Paducah Cooperative Ministries “Fresh Start” project. For those of you that don’t know… Let me tell you about it. It’s a program for women that begins with self-esteem and self-management sessions in jail. And when those women are released from jail, they can move into the Fresh Start house. It’s a supportive environment for women to get back on their feet. It’s not a halfway house. It’s a place of comfort. It is a place where their salvation can begin in renewed life.

Comfort is the beginning and end of all of our salvation. We are comparatively as bad as the sinners of Jerusalem. Especially in this season where our greed and anger can get the best of us. Feelings of guilt or sadness also seem amplified in this season. Or perhaps we have given up our hope in this salvation. This holiday season doesn’t always feel the way we think it should.

But there is a sense urgency in this commandment of comfort. Be comforted. Let, ALLOW, yourself to be comforted. When you are in the wilderness of anxiety or despair, be comforted. Be comforted by the fact that when you are in the wilderness – God is present. Or be comforted by the people in the pews around you. Be comforted by a loving community. Be comforted by the small blessings.

Because in finding that comfort, we are preparing a place in our lives. We are using the comfort of salvation to clear away the pain of our human sin. Moving things and thoughts out of our lives and creating a metaphysical space. Preparing a path.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people

Prepare ye the way.

Behold your God.

The Rev. Meghan Holland

Grace Episcopal Church