Comfort And Care

A Reflection on the First Reading for December 6th, 2020:
Second Sunday of Advent

---

Isaiah
40. 1-5,9-11

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
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.

A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
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. 
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

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!"

See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him. 
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
​

Pause. Pray.
And then, read more...

---

This is one of the verses which formed part of our discernment in moving to Canada from the Philippines. It meant so many things to me then which are so different from my reality now, but still the message was clear — to bring comfort to God’s people.

I must admit that in those days, my thoughts never ventured beyond that first line of the reading. My thoughts were more on how me, myself, and I could bring this about!

When I landed here in Halifax, I heard the hymn ‘Comfort My People’ for the first time, which I was told was sung during Confirmations. I cannot find it on YouTube, (It must be too old!) but that song served as my personal confirmation that we had indeed made the right decision to come to Canada. 

Through the years, my experience taught me that ‘comfort’ did not only mean giving a person the warm fuzzies, it also meant giving our support, affirmation, and confidence to them. Being a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on are also part of giving comfort.

What I did not realize initially, was that the rest of this reading from Isaiah tells us how to give comfort to God’s people. When we speak kindly to people; listen to them, yes, even to their rants, it gives us the opportunity to highlight for them the goodness of the Lord. We have been saved; He is there for us; our problems are not our own — we can abandon them at the Lord’s feet and He will take care of them. He takes care of us. “... he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom… ”

What a wonderful thought to keep in mind during this Advent season. We experience the hope and the anticipation of the coming of our Saviour who is all these things to us. 

Instead of giving up things this Advent — being on voluntary lockdown, what more is there to give up — I can instead be more giving. I can give more of my time to someone who needs someone to talk to. In my job, I get a chance to speak with people, many of whom are seniors. I realize that they have no one with them at home. When I spend a little more time engaging them in conversation, in the end, they thank me for the extra time spent talking to them. I work a little longer, but I have the extra time. I no longer spend time going to and from my workplace as I now work from home. 

These are little things that we can sometimes take for granted. Maybe we can go the extra mile and add them to our Advent “do good” list.



​
Liz Venezuela

---