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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
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2nd Sunday of Advent – (B) Isaiah 40:1-11 December 7, 2008 As we heard in today’s first reading: “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.” These words were addressed to the people of Judah who were exiled in Babylon around 500 B.C. For more than seventy years that community had been away from the land of their ancestors. Most of them had given up all hope of things ever getting better. Many had even given up their faith in God. It was a time of deep and utter discouragement. But now, suddenly, these words of HOPE!! “Comfort, O comfort my people!” God was smiling upon his people again! God had delivered Judah up to their enemies because of the nation’s sins. But now, God declared, her punishment was over! It was all over! God was going to come to his people and bless them. In figurative language, a magnificent highway would be constructed so that God could come and dwell in their midst. All of the obstacles that had kept the people of Judah from experiencing God’s love would now be done away with forever! What a promise! It must have thrilled the hearts of those who heard it! But still, there were the nagging voices of doubt. Even if God was going to come to his people, would he then CONTINUE to bless them in the future? For they knew – as do we when we are really honest – that despite their best intentions they would probably sin again. What would God do then? Or as it is poetically expressed in our reading: “All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the filed. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.” When the people sinned again, would God once again reject and punish them? Perhaps this is a question that many of us face in our own lives as well. Both as individuals and as a group, we too often fall short of fulfilling God’s expectations. Many of us can certainly identify with having gone through times of deep and dark discouragement in our lives, which, at least partially, were the result of our own failures and shortcomings. In a sense, it may feel like we have been “punished” by God. If things are now going well for us once again, can we really believe it is going to last? Is it all just too good to be true? Sometimes it seems as though people cannot enjoy the present because they are afraid of the future! “I am in remission from cancer,” one person might be thinking. “But what if it should happen again?!” After a failed marriage or other relationship, another person might be may be blessed with a new start in another one…but instead of being joyful is forever wondering if this one is going to last. “What if,” we may think, “we sin and fail again?” “Will God still love us? Will God still care for us?” These are not just idle questions. They are questions of a fearful heart. A heart that has been wounded so badly that it is afraid to trust for the future. Is that true of any of us? There are no guarantees that we will not have future problems. On the contrary, as long as we remain in this life we will certainly continue to encounter them! As soon as we get through one difficult situation, we will probably soon experience yet another. But in today’s first reading, God wants us to know something. God wants us to know that he is going to always love us and care for us, come what may! Even though we may sin and fail again and again and again, God will never, ever fail us! “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!” “HERE is your God!” Right here and right now! Do not fear – rejoice in the present and be hopeful for the future because God loves us! We do not know what is going to happen in the future, but we DO know that God is always going to be with us – loving and forgiving us because we are his people. God will be with us every step of the way as we go through this life. God will be with us even as we journey through the “valley of the shadow of death,” and he will also be with us in an even more glorious way in the resurrected life yet to come. “HERE is your God!” Do we understand this? Do we believe it? We are never alone! We are never forsaken! Through Jesus Christ, we know that God’s love for us is right here and right now – and is eternal and everlasting. This is truly a message that the world is yearning to hear. No matter what, God is never going to give up on us or abandon us. Not even when we “backslide” or give up on him! Instead, as the prophet says, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom (that is, close to his heart), and gently lead the mother sheep.” Our Lord is always going to love and care for us. God is always going to deal gently and tenderly with us, even when we don’t deserve it. During this season of Advent, we look forward to the coming of the Lord. We look forward to his coming not with a fearful heart, but with joy and expectation. For God is coming to redeem us from our sins and give us the assurance that we shall always be his people – his beloved and forgiven people. That is the message of this Advent season, in Jesus’ name. “Comfort, O comfort my people – Comfort, O comfort my people,” says your God. Amen! -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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