Comfort, comfort my people
Commentary
(A)
" 'Comfort, comfort my people,' says your God. 'Speak tenderly ...' " or "speak to the heart of" the people of Jerusalem who have been in bondage yet again. Instead of the slavery in Egypt, though, this time it is Babylonia which has held the exiles. But God, who is consistent in his actions, will once more release the prisoners, not from physical bondage only but from spiritual bondage as well. Second Isaiah is commissioned to tell them that their sins are forgiven. Suffering has refined them, their hearts are prepared, and now they sorely need comfort and hope. While we shall never be exiled from our homeland for unfaithfulness to God, certainly all have experienced trials and temptations which have the power to cause our faith to falter, exiling us from God. Belief in the consistency of God's actions in history as a deliverer, a redeemer, as well as a judge will always help to level out the uneven and rough places. William Bathhurst wrote these words of a hymn:
O for a faith that will not shrink / Though pressed by every foe, / That will not tremble on the brink / Of any earthly woe! / That will not murmur nor complain / Beneath the chastening rod, / But, in the hour of grief or pain, / Will lean upon its God. / Lord, give me such a faith as this; / And then, whate'er may come, / I'll taste, e'en now the hallowed bliss / Of an eternal home.
Forgiveness of sins is a chance for a new beginning, for the Israelites and for us.
- Dean
(A)
Advent is the time to announce God's impending intervention into history. Isaiah tells us to "lift up our voices with strength," to sound forth the "good tidings." But the church seems too silent. Have we lost our voices?
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale tells of how he was scheduled to speak at a large convention. He arrived in town in the afternoon and began to get a bad case of laryngitis. He called a doctor who came to his hotel, and at Peale's direction, sprayed his throat and gave him some pills. Then the doctor said, "Now I would like to give you the treatment that can really heal you." "What is it?" asked Peale. "Why did you wait so long?"
"Because," the doctor said, "I didn't think I would have to give it to you. It is called the golden key. The golden key is this: Focus your thoughts on God; don't focus them on your problem. You have been focusing on your problem! That tightens up your nervous system so the blood doesn't flow harmoniously. As a result, you experience sickness. Stop focusing on the problem, and start focusing on God."
The key worked. Dr. Peale writes: "When I walked to the platform to speak that night, I testify that my voice was never stronger than it was that night."
- Randolph
(A)
It is difficult for our minds to begin to imagine the expanse of human history backward into the time of the prophet Isaiah. Most of us can barely grasp the time beyond the generation of our grandparents. But even consider this short expanse of time and ask, what is God's eternal, enduring Word doing? Where is God going? The Word seems to be able to overcome obstacles: world wars, powerful demagogues, empire-building, holocausts, libertine morality. What about God's Word? Much grass has withered, many flowers have faded and yet ... and yet! God's Word endures forever.
- Cobb
(A)
Several years ago, while driving through the mountains, we came upon workmen using heavy equipment in building an interstate highway. We marvelled at the way bulldozers could move the earth. Where once there were hills and valleys and curves, they were now building an entirely new highway. The valley was being filled with earth from the hillside. The new road would be straight and level. No doubt, it is in use now.
The late Dr. Clarence Jordan, founder of Koinonia Farms, Georgia, once described John the Baptist as a "bulldozer" as he made way for the coming of the Lord. It was an apt description of a fiery preacher who bulldozed people around with his message of repentance. He even bulldozed King Herod, calling him to task for his adultery and other wickedness! It cost John his life, but he did prepare the way of the Lord.
Dr. Clarence Jordan was also the "bulldozer" type, evidenced in his writings such as Cotton Patch Version of the Epistles, wherein he renamed Romans, Corinthians and other letters with names of large cities in the South: Atlanta, Washington, Birmingham, etc. We need more such leadership to prepare the way of the Lord.
- Yocom
SECOND LESSON
2 Peter 3:8-14 (L, C, P)
2 Peter 3:8-15a, 18 (M)
(A)
Time is a relative matter.
We went to Disneyland while in California. We set out to visit several areas and became thoroughly engrossed in what we saw. Before we realized it, we had spent the morning, and it was one o'clock before we had lunch. The afternoon sped by as we enjoyed such places as Frontierland and Fantasyland. Young and old alike have a never-to-be-forgotten experience at Disneyland.
On the other hand, the minutes dragged by slowly as we sat in the relatives' waiting room at the hospital. The beloved had been in surgery three hours, but they seemed like three days. Thank the Lord all was well. Everyone can remember similar experiences.
Eternity scares some people, but with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are but a day. A great "Day" is coming, the day of the Lord, When? That's God's best secret. We are to be diligent, and it's amazing how time passes when we are busy - especially when we are busy for the right purposes.
- Yocom
(A)
Even though many years had passed without the parousia, the author of 2 Peter is reminding his readers that "the Day of the Lord will come like a thief." Certainly if they expected a thief, they would be prepared! The scoffing referred to by Peter revealed a prevailing attitude, however. Finding fault with God would excuse them for being unfaithful! A woman who had been a faithful parishioner met her pastor on the street. As they walked together, she explained why she had stopped coming to church. She had gone gack to college and was busy, but the reason she wanted to make clear was the she no longer believed all the things about Christianity she had been taught. Jesus as the divine Son of God no longer appealed to her. "Besides," she accused, "he hasn't returned as the Bible teaches!" The pastor was patient. He inquired about what was going on in her life since she had resumed her formal education. She had acquired a new circle of friends whose lifestyle was not compatible with Christianity. He encouraged her to examine the real reason why her faith was troubling her. This message from Peter would have been helpful. God's nature to have mercy and patience is consistent. The extension of time, as we understand time, is an opportunity for repentance - turning away from sin toward God.
- Dean
(A)
This is the Second Sunday in Advent. We are into the countdown season; there are nineteen days until Christmas! We look at our calendars and can hardly believe that the time is passing so quickly. But God has his own method of measuring time.
A church school class presented a "mellerdramer" (melodrama) to a church gathering. There was a lot of over-acting and fun as Patrick rescued Maggie from the mean Manuel. As the narrator read the story, the class members acted out the parts.
Maubra and Sue were Curtains and parted as the play began. Bill was the Sun and stood up to signal in the morning. Marion stood there on stage with a big sign indicating she was the Stairs. Bev played Zingerella who came "tearing down the stairs" (tearing Marion's sign of course) to do her master's bidding. And so it went - as the plot thickened! At one of the most "dramatic" points of the presentation, the narrator read, "The Hours passed but oh, so slowly." And Peggy, dressed like a clock and carrying a sign which said, "HOURS," just in case her friends did not recognize her, side-stepped very slowly across the stage.
God does not measure time according to our clocks and calendars. For God, time is the stage on which persons and events happen. For God, time is opportunity; it is the opportunity for us to live lives that are increasingly characterized by holiness and godliness. Sometimes it seems that God moves slowly, but he does that to give a great number of people the opportunity to turn to him.
According to our calendars, there are nineteen days until Christmas. According to God's calendar, it is the time now to turn to meet the Christ who is coming to meet us.
- Randolph
(A)
She was one of the oldest ladies in a former parish I served. She was a retired school teacher; she was also vibrant with Christian enthusiasm. While some persons would hear new proposals with pessimism, she encouraged "new thinking," always with the attitude that God was leading. You could see the twinkle in her eyes as she thought, "You young pastors have new ideas; you young educators have new training; our young children are products of a new culture and society, new values and influences; and so, let's get on with what God is doing. God is making all things new!" Through all of these things, she possessed vs. 13 so personally: "Nevertheless we, according to his promises, look for new ..."
- Cobb
GOSPEL
Mark 1:1-8 (A)
(A)
Second Isaiah was the messenger to the Jews in Babylon to proclaim their long exile would soon be over. He helped to prepare the way for the Lord as forgiveness of their unfaithfulness made repentance possible. John the Baptizer was like Isaiah in that he was a messenger who announced the beginning of the gospel, the good news of God's forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. By preaching a baptism of repentance, he prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. Both Isaiah and John were commissioned to reveal the consistent, forgiving nature of God. Leander Keck, in Faith Alive, writes:
Repentance does not bring forgiveness, but forgiveness brings repentance ... It was a turning point of the whole life of man toward God, ... not done in the hope that God might respond but was itself a response to the news that God had acted first. The death of Jesus did not bring about a change in God's attitude or tactics. Rather, the forgiving work of God reached its climax, its fulfillment, in the forgiveness preached through Jesus.
Knowledge of God's forgiveness brings repentance which prepares the way.
- Dean
(A)
"Pavior" is an old English word meaning one who paves a road, who prepares the way. John the Baptizer was a pavior. He helped prepare the path for Christ. Advent says that all Christians are called to be paviors.
Charles M. Crowe told how a man named Cam Townsend functioned as a pavior. He went to Guatemala years ago with a large supply of Spanish Bibles. But the native Indians did not speak Spanish. So Cam Townsend spent the next forty years of his life translating the Bible into the native tribal language. He also taught others to do the same. Thus, one man prepared the way for Christ in a wilderness.
We do not need to go to faraway countries in order to be paviors for the Christ. He needs persons like us to prepare the way for him in every area of life. Right in our own homes and schools and offices there is a whole wilderness of prejudice, ill will, moral blindness and greed.
We do not need to be great reformers, but we can "prepare the way" by pointing others to the Savior.
- Randolph
(A)
I don't know who he was; he was simply a man in a jeep, riding and stopping along a road of resort cabins on the ocean beach. With the loud horn and urgent screams, he called out, "Watch that funnel cloud in the distance - look out! Water spout!" Obviously his warnnig was welcomed. It told us of danger and allowed us to get ourselves to a place of greater safety. Such was the role of John the Baptizer. He proclaimed the danger at hand while pointing to the person who would offer LIFE! Of course, God sends those who sound the alarm; and he sends them not to terrorize and frighten but to move us into the company of the One who is our salvation.
- Cobb
(A)
The Essene cult of the Jews in the time of Christ has received much publicity in recent years because of their Qumran colony near the Dead Sea in Israel. They were people of the desert who lived frugally, enjoyed a bizarre diet, and were quite industrious. Qumran as it exits in ruins today gives evidence of cisterns for the scarce water supply, a granary, and rooms for those who lived there. They also had a baptistry for proselytes who would join them. High on the nearby mountains, in caves, they stored what we now call the Dead Sea Scrolls, our oldest Bible manuscripts of the Old Testament.
But John was the messenger of the Lord who came out to preach repentance as well as baptism, as people confessed their sins. We can be grateful for John, who was also the cousin of Jesus, who did prepare the way for the Christ who was coming.
- Yocom
" 'Comfort, comfort my people,' says your God. 'Speak tenderly ...' " or "speak to the heart of" the people of Jerusalem who have been in bondage yet again. Instead of the slavery in Egypt, though, this time it is Babylonia which has held the exiles. But God, who is consistent in his actions, will once more release the prisoners, not from physical bondage only but from spiritual bondage as well. Second Isaiah is commissioned to tell them that their sins are forgiven. Suffering has refined them, their hearts are prepared, and now they sorely need comfort and hope. While we shall never be exiled from our homeland for unfaithfulness to God, certainly all have experienced trials and temptations which have the power to cause our faith to falter, exiling us from God. Belief in the consistency of God's actions in history as a deliverer, a redeemer, as well as a judge will always help to level out the uneven and rough places. William Bathhurst wrote these words of a hymn:
O for a faith that will not shrink / Though pressed by every foe, / That will not tremble on the brink / Of any earthly woe! / That will not murmur nor complain / Beneath the chastening rod, / But, in the hour of grief or pain, / Will lean upon its God. / Lord, give me such a faith as this; / And then, whate'er may come, / I'll taste, e'en now the hallowed bliss / Of an eternal home.
Forgiveness of sins is a chance for a new beginning, for the Israelites and for us.
- Dean
(A)
Advent is the time to announce God's impending intervention into history. Isaiah tells us to "lift up our voices with strength," to sound forth the "good tidings." But the church seems too silent. Have we lost our voices?
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale tells of how he was scheduled to speak at a large convention. He arrived in town in the afternoon and began to get a bad case of laryngitis. He called a doctor who came to his hotel, and at Peale's direction, sprayed his throat and gave him some pills. Then the doctor said, "Now I would like to give you the treatment that can really heal you." "What is it?" asked Peale. "Why did you wait so long?"
"Because," the doctor said, "I didn't think I would have to give it to you. It is called the golden key. The golden key is this: Focus your thoughts on God; don't focus them on your problem. You have been focusing on your problem! That tightens up your nervous system so the blood doesn't flow harmoniously. As a result, you experience sickness. Stop focusing on the problem, and start focusing on God."
The key worked. Dr. Peale writes: "When I walked to the platform to speak that night, I testify that my voice was never stronger than it was that night."
- Randolph
(A)
It is difficult for our minds to begin to imagine the expanse of human history backward into the time of the prophet Isaiah. Most of us can barely grasp the time beyond the generation of our grandparents. But even consider this short expanse of time and ask, what is God's eternal, enduring Word doing? Where is God going? The Word seems to be able to overcome obstacles: world wars, powerful demagogues, empire-building, holocausts, libertine morality. What about God's Word? Much grass has withered, many flowers have faded and yet ... and yet! God's Word endures forever.
- Cobb
(A)
Several years ago, while driving through the mountains, we came upon workmen using heavy equipment in building an interstate highway. We marvelled at the way bulldozers could move the earth. Where once there were hills and valleys and curves, they were now building an entirely new highway. The valley was being filled with earth from the hillside. The new road would be straight and level. No doubt, it is in use now.
The late Dr. Clarence Jordan, founder of Koinonia Farms, Georgia, once described John the Baptist as a "bulldozer" as he made way for the coming of the Lord. It was an apt description of a fiery preacher who bulldozed people around with his message of repentance. He even bulldozed King Herod, calling him to task for his adultery and other wickedness! It cost John his life, but he did prepare the way of the Lord.
Dr. Clarence Jordan was also the "bulldozer" type, evidenced in his writings such as Cotton Patch Version of the Epistles, wherein he renamed Romans, Corinthians and other letters with names of large cities in the South: Atlanta, Washington, Birmingham, etc. We need more such leadership to prepare the way of the Lord.
- Yocom
SECOND LESSON
2 Peter 3:8-14 (L, C, P)
2 Peter 3:8-15a, 18 (M)
(A)
Time is a relative matter.
We went to Disneyland while in California. We set out to visit several areas and became thoroughly engrossed in what we saw. Before we realized it, we had spent the morning, and it was one o'clock before we had lunch. The afternoon sped by as we enjoyed such places as Frontierland and Fantasyland. Young and old alike have a never-to-be-forgotten experience at Disneyland.
On the other hand, the minutes dragged by slowly as we sat in the relatives' waiting room at the hospital. The beloved had been in surgery three hours, but they seemed like three days. Thank the Lord all was well. Everyone can remember similar experiences.
Eternity scares some people, but with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are but a day. A great "Day" is coming, the day of the Lord, When? That's God's best secret. We are to be diligent, and it's amazing how time passes when we are busy - especially when we are busy for the right purposes.
- Yocom
(A)
Even though many years had passed without the parousia, the author of 2 Peter is reminding his readers that "the Day of the Lord will come like a thief." Certainly if they expected a thief, they would be prepared! The scoffing referred to by Peter revealed a prevailing attitude, however. Finding fault with God would excuse them for being unfaithful! A woman who had been a faithful parishioner met her pastor on the street. As they walked together, she explained why she had stopped coming to church. She had gone gack to college and was busy, but the reason she wanted to make clear was the she no longer believed all the things about Christianity she had been taught. Jesus as the divine Son of God no longer appealed to her. "Besides," she accused, "he hasn't returned as the Bible teaches!" The pastor was patient. He inquired about what was going on in her life since she had resumed her formal education. She had acquired a new circle of friends whose lifestyle was not compatible with Christianity. He encouraged her to examine the real reason why her faith was troubling her. This message from Peter would have been helpful. God's nature to have mercy and patience is consistent. The extension of time, as we understand time, is an opportunity for repentance - turning away from sin toward God.
- Dean
(A)
This is the Second Sunday in Advent. We are into the countdown season; there are nineteen days until Christmas! We look at our calendars and can hardly believe that the time is passing so quickly. But God has his own method of measuring time.
A church school class presented a "mellerdramer" (melodrama) to a church gathering. There was a lot of over-acting and fun as Patrick rescued Maggie from the mean Manuel. As the narrator read the story, the class members acted out the parts.
Maubra and Sue were Curtains and parted as the play began. Bill was the Sun and stood up to signal in the morning. Marion stood there on stage with a big sign indicating she was the Stairs. Bev played Zingerella who came "tearing down the stairs" (tearing Marion's sign of course) to do her master's bidding. And so it went - as the plot thickened! At one of the most "dramatic" points of the presentation, the narrator read, "The Hours passed but oh, so slowly." And Peggy, dressed like a clock and carrying a sign which said, "HOURS," just in case her friends did not recognize her, side-stepped very slowly across the stage.
God does not measure time according to our clocks and calendars. For God, time is the stage on which persons and events happen. For God, time is opportunity; it is the opportunity for us to live lives that are increasingly characterized by holiness and godliness. Sometimes it seems that God moves slowly, but he does that to give a great number of people the opportunity to turn to him.
According to our calendars, there are nineteen days until Christmas. According to God's calendar, it is the time now to turn to meet the Christ who is coming to meet us.
- Randolph
(A)
She was one of the oldest ladies in a former parish I served. She was a retired school teacher; she was also vibrant with Christian enthusiasm. While some persons would hear new proposals with pessimism, she encouraged "new thinking," always with the attitude that God was leading. You could see the twinkle in her eyes as she thought, "You young pastors have new ideas; you young educators have new training; our young children are products of a new culture and society, new values and influences; and so, let's get on with what God is doing. God is making all things new!" Through all of these things, she possessed vs. 13 so personally: "Nevertheless we, according to his promises, look for new ..."
- Cobb
GOSPEL
Mark 1:1-8 (A)
(A)
Second Isaiah was the messenger to the Jews in Babylon to proclaim their long exile would soon be over. He helped to prepare the way for the Lord as forgiveness of their unfaithfulness made repentance possible. John the Baptizer was like Isaiah in that he was a messenger who announced the beginning of the gospel, the good news of God's forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. By preaching a baptism of repentance, he prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. Both Isaiah and John were commissioned to reveal the consistent, forgiving nature of God. Leander Keck, in Faith Alive, writes:
Repentance does not bring forgiveness, but forgiveness brings repentance ... It was a turning point of the whole life of man toward God, ... not done in the hope that God might respond but was itself a response to the news that God had acted first. The death of Jesus did not bring about a change in God's attitude or tactics. Rather, the forgiving work of God reached its climax, its fulfillment, in the forgiveness preached through Jesus.
Knowledge of God's forgiveness brings repentance which prepares the way.
- Dean
(A)
"Pavior" is an old English word meaning one who paves a road, who prepares the way. John the Baptizer was a pavior. He helped prepare the path for Christ. Advent says that all Christians are called to be paviors.
Charles M. Crowe told how a man named Cam Townsend functioned as a pavior. He went to Guatemala years ago with a large supply of Spanish Bibles. But the native Indians did not speak Spanish. So Cam Townsend spent the next forty years of his life translating the Bible into the native tribal language. He also taught others to do the same. Thus, one man prepared the way for Christ in a wilderness.
We do not need to go to faraway countries in order to be paviors for the Christ. He needs persons like us to prepare the way for him in every area of life. Right in our own homes and schools and offices there is a whole wilderness of prejudice, ill will, moral blindness and greed.
We do not need to be great reformers, but we can "prepare the way" by pointing others to the Savior.
- Randolph
(A)
I don't know who he was; he was simply a man in a jeep, riding and stopping along a road of resort cabins on the ocean beach. With the loud horn and urgent screams, he called out, "Watch that funnel cloud in the distance - look out! Water spout!" Obviously his warnnig was welcomed. It told us of danger and allowed us to get ourselves to a place of greater safety. Such was the role of John the Baptizer. He proclaimed the danger at hand while pointing to the person who would offer LIFE! Of course, God sends those who sound the alarm; and he sends them not to terrorize and frighten but to move us into the company of the One who is our salvation.
- Cobb
(A)
The Essene cult of the Jews in the time of Christ has received much publicity in recent years because of their Qumran colony near the Dead Sea in Israel. They were people of the desert who lived frugally, enjoyed a bizarre diet, and were quite industrious. Qumran as it exits in ruins today gives evidence of cisterns for the scarce water supply, a granary, and rooms for those who lived there. They also had a baptistry for proselytes who would join them. High on the nearby mountains, in caves, they stored what we now call the Dead Sea Scrolls, our oldest Bible manuscripts of the Old Testament.
But John was the messenger of the Lord who came out to preach repentance as well as baptism, as people confessed their sins. We can be grateful for John, who was also the cousin of Jesus, who did prepare the way for the Christ who was coming.
- Yocom
