Second Tuesday of Advent - December 10, 2019

Isaiah 40:1-11


Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will 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 like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.


• In today’s scripture text, the prophet communicates God’s words: “Comfort, comfort, my people” (v. 1). In the immediate context, the comfort is aimed at exiles who have been displaced from their homeland and taken into captivity in Babylonian. But in the larger context, God extends comfort to anyone who is held captive by social systems, religious systems, or economic systems. How do you hear these words of comfort today? What do they say to you in your life-situation?

• Of course, this passage is not simply about you. There are persons around you who need comfort. Some of those persons you know, and others are still unknown to you. You will, however, meet them in the run of your daily life . . . in your neighborhood, at the store, and on the streets. Is there someone to whom you could reach out today with a tangible expression of comfort?

• In verses 3-5, there is a great leveling. Literally, the terrain will be leveled in order to allow exiles to return to their homeland. But metaphorically, the terrain represents the people, all people whose status God is changing . . . the lowly who will be raised up and the powerful who will be brought low . . . the crooked people who will be made straight and the rough persons will be smoothed. How does this image speak to you? Where do you find yourself with this passage?