Advent Devotion: Isaiah 40:1-11

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. 

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)

Palms to Ashes

fronds from last year's

celebration, gathered, burned

hosanna to the King of kings!

throw a match in the pyre,

flash they are dust

smoke fills the air

billowing clouds of gray rising

to meet the King

soot, dust, ashes, remember

when breath no longer moves

within the body

remember you are dust

sign of the cross traced above

the windows to the soul

only He can see what's in there

wipes it clean with dust and ashes

paradox of faith 

dirt equated to life

life returned to dust and so 

the cycle continues in Him

cleansing, forgiveness, remember you

are dust

grace juxtaposed with soot, darkness

broken into by light

love crushes despair and fills 

the longing places, remember

child of God, I love you little

one, ashes, breath, newness

of life, remember

blessed is He who comes

in the name of the Lord, ashes

to palms, palms to ashes, death

to life to death again

hosanna, the King He lives

remember

Hope is a prerequisite for Life

My son just finished reading "Night" by Elie Wiesel in his honors English class.  I read it a few years ago and was moved by it that I remember laying on the coach and sobbing.  A mixture of emotions coursed through my mind, heart and soul:  guilt, grief, anger, sadness, and hope.

As we drove home from our latest trip to piano lessons and weekly family dinner, an hour away, we had time to process some of Noah's thoughts about the book.  First of all I found out that he doesn't like books that have pain and struggle in them.  He is very compassionate but I think it weighs him down. . . maybe he's like his mother in that respect and FEELS very deeply for others who are in pain.  He would rather read Tolkien or Ridley Pearson instead.  He's a sunny kind of guy, no brooding for him, no dwelling in the sadness of life for this ray of sunshine!  So the subject of hope came up. . .

Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings. --Elie Wiesel


Without hope there can be no life, at least anything that resembles life.  If we give up completely, if we lack a basic hope in today, let alone tomorrow, then we are left with the emptiness of despair.  Despair debilitates.  Despair robs us of life.  But hope gives us courage in the face of struggle, courage to do the thing that can be so difficult--- courage to LIVE.  


^{Romans 5: 1} Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness!  Hope in Christ is what keeps me alive!  Hope in the promises of God is what keeps this sinner from falling into the darkness of despair.  Hope walks with me like a loving companion, encouraging me to live for today, urging me to make good use of my life, reminding me that I am a child of God named "Amy" and that there is a plan for me that God is laying out before me one step at a time.  Hope calls me to help others, to comfort them in their grief so that they might have hope as well.  Hope lifts me and supports me even while my character is being refined, shaped, whittled, and sculpted by all that is "life."  


Hope is prerequisite for life.  
Without hope we cannot really live.  
Without hope we would all die of a broken heart.