Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 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.
2 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.
3 A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
6 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.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
9 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!’
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 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.
As the fields are being planted with winter wheat, we know that soon we will be feeling the effects of the change of seasons. When the snow falls around us we see the grass turn brown, the remnants of fall flowers turn brittle and wave aimlessly in the wind. We know that death is imminent for plant life and eventually for the whole creation. "Surely the people are grass," said the prophet. Surely one day we will be withered and lifeless.
Almost daily we are faced with the reality of our own mortality, even as we await the birth of Jesus Christ. Our hope is in the Lord who broke the bonds of sin and death, beginning with his incarnation in Bethlehem and further on the cross of Calvary. We may be like grass, but we know that in the springtime a bit of rainfall and sunshine revives the grass to its former green glory. Our hope this Advent and always, is that through Christ we will not be bound by death, rather will be renewed and resurrected on the last death.
Come, Lord Jesus. Kyrie Eleison. Amen.
photo credit: MGDboston (morgue file)
No comments:
Post a Comment