When I read the words of our text, I hear in my mind Milwaukee’s Messiah Community Choir singing these verses form the first three movements, and I hear God’s tender voice crying “Comfort, comfort” to His people. When Jesus came, His path had been made straight by John the Baptist, and He revealed exactly who God was—God’s glory! Jesus will come again, and all of creation—the valleys, mountains, hills, rough ground, and rugged places will be made whole in Him.
But now we live in the in-between, and God calls us to comfort and encourage those around us, to remind them that their debts have been paid in Christ, and that they are God’s beloved people.
In 1986, when we were living in Mali, West Africa, I received word that my mother was dying. I was able to get flights to be with her during those last days of labored breathing. I dreamt of some kind of miraculous reconciliation with this woman who bore me and yet who I barely knew. I dreamt that the scars of her mental illness and alcoholism would be removed. As I prayed by her side, she told me that she had made her “peace with God” and didn’t want to talk with me about it. Moments later, she went into a coma and died.
I cried during my long flights back to Mali. I felt so bereft—a mother wound I felt would never be filled. My plane to Brussels wasn’t full. I was in a window seat and a small, elderly Belgian woman was in the middle section. She beckoned me over, asked why I wept, and told me to lie across the seats with my head in her lap. She gently stroked my hair, as a mother would comfort her child.
In these confusing times when hope is darkened, how we need to hear the strains of God’s tender words of love and concern to us, “Comfort, comfort my people”! Allow God’s love to reassure your heart today that you might proclaim His hope and sure plan to those around you.
For Reflection:
- When have you received unexpected comfort in times of despair?
- How can you be a source of comfort to someone around you that might need words of hope?
by Lisa Sinclair
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