Dec 6, 2020
Isaiah is speaking the good news that God comforts the exiled.
Comfort, comfort ye my people, speak ye peace thus saith our God…
God’s comfort for those who are exiled is the promise of return into the bosom of God. To those who are East in Babylon in the wilderness the way of the Lord is prepared and through that desert there will be a highway a smooth path back out of exile and to the city of peace, to Jerusalem. God’s comfort for those who are exiled is a reminder that though the things of this world wither and fades and we may be stripped of our worldly comforts, our Comfort is that “the word of our God will stand for ever.” Isaiah is saying to the people in exile the good tidings is that God is here and they will be restored and that the Lord God is a shepherd who feeds and guides his sheep and holds the lambs in his bosom. For the exiled, Comfort looks like a way back to the bosom of God.
Here is the thing— though we may not have always felt exile, we as Christians recognize that exile is always part of our story. Humanity lives East of Eden exiled from the garden knowing that we too will wither and fade because of our sins. And the good news is that God comforts the exiled. To those in the East, there is a Way.
The Gospeller Mark knows this and intentionally begins his Gospel invoking prophet Isaiah. John the baptist is the voice crying out in the wilderness showing us the way of repentance. We have served our term and our penalty is paid, though this time not by us. And though we may still wither and fade, the word of God which is breathed into and over us will stand forever. We have a Good Shepherd who feeds and guides his sheep and gathers us into the bosom of God. We have the good tidings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
… and all flesh shall see the token that the word is never broken.
I hope that more than a just a deeper knowledge of our scriptures that the Word of God might stand forever in your heart. I pray that you receive comfort and tell out good tidings