August 28, 2020

August 28, 2020

Good afternoon,

" 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 her sin.

Isaiah 40:1-2

This is a passage from Advent. The Messiah is about to come to this world. Israel is ready. Her sin has been erased from their community and their world. " She" is Israel. Salvation is coming to the whole community, and they seem to be in the best space to receive the Messiah.

Comfort is going to come to the community of God. They must have been in some trouble with their enemies, their friends, or their community of believers, and they have been brought some comfort by God, and maybe by each other. The setting of this text is not quite known. The words may be written from the exiled in Babylon, and God has redeemed the people of Israel.

What do you need comfort for today ? Isaiah , through God, is supposed to speak tenderly and softly to Jerusalem. The city is the spiritual capital of the faith. Do you see Jerusalem in that way ? Our faith in Jesus Christ started there. The resurrection occurred there. The disciples met there, and then traveled the world. What should we say to Jerusalem, or should we say it to Poole, or Milverton or Elmira ? God wants to care for us all.

Prayer

Speak to us tenderly, O God.

We need comfort for our schools, and parents.

We need comfort in our families , and in our relationships.

Our homes need to be safe places of love,

of hope and healing.

Speak to us in a loving and caring way.

We might be tired, and we need your

strength

peace and

your salvation

each day of this pandemic year.

2020… 2020…2020… speak to us in a small voice.

AMEN.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church