Text: Isaiah 40:1-11
Facebook live: Our Lord tends, gathers, carries and leads those he loves!
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
When I was in a child in Kindergarten I have a vivid memory of a fire drill.
When the fire alarm sounded we were directed out of our classroom into the hall single file. As we entered the hall and turned to the left a student from an upper grade coming from another room would grab the hand of a kindergarten student and lead them out of the building and up the hill to the road where we would all wait until the drill was over.
That leading and guiding was to get the younger students to where they were to go but also to bring comfort during a trying time if a real fire was to occur.
The grasp of a seasoned and leading hand can put one at ease and bring peace in a time of trial.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
The right hand of God which is a hand of power is also a hand of comfort as he leads his children from the wrath of his judgment to the land or promise.
“God’s people are those who need comfort Luther writes, because they have been wounded and terrified by the Law and they are an empty vessel capable of receiving comfort. Only those who are afflicted have comfort and are capable of it, because comfort means nothing unless there is a malady.”
Luther’s works, AE 17:3
For there to be a cure you have to have a sickness. With Covid, though with varying degrees of severity, all can be affected. For some there appear no symptoms, though the virus is still present, for others minor symptoms appear and then a return to normal - and yet for the few - dangerous symptoms and side effects can lead to death. Because some may die, the cure has to be as close to perfect as you can get because we don’t know who may be the most vulnerable.
The vaccines on the horizon boast a 90-95% success rate which is very good and many of the vaccines have shown these results in trial testing, but still the cure could prove to be ineffective for the few.
So there is possibility that some who might be in the most vulnerable group could still see the vaccine not work and fall victim to the worse effects of Covid 19.
Though some might not be helped, we can expect as we should, that the cry to be vaccinated would be loud and long.
Get to your Doctor and get vaccinated!
Don’t take the risk!
Most people are helped!
Do it now! Don’t wait!
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The wilderness cry of long ago in Isaiah comes to life in a most unusual and excellent way as the fore runner of the cure appears in the wilderness claiming a cure for the sickness of sin that is 100% effective.
The highway is smooth and clear, the valley is filled and the mountains made low. No obstacle remains. The rough places are smooth and the ground is made level.
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
The cry is for help!
The vaccines on the horizon boast a 90-95% success rate which is very good and many of the vaccines have shown these results in trial testing, but still the cure could prove to be ineffective for the few.
So there is possibility that some who might be in the most vulnerable group could still see the vaccine not work and fall victim to the worse effects of Covid 19.
Though some might not be helped, we can expect as we should, that the cry to be vaccinated would be loud and long.
Get to your Doctor and get vaccinated!
Don’t take the risk!
Most people are helped!
Do it now! Don’t wait!
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The wilderness cry of long ago in Isaiah comes to life in a most unusual and excellent way as the fore runner of the cure appears in the wilderness claiming a cure for the sickness of sin that is 100% effective.
The highway is smooth and clear, the valley is filled and the mountains made low. No obstacle remains. The rough places are smooth and the ground is made level.
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
The cry is for help!
The cry is now!
The cry is for a vaccine!
Surly if we just had a vaccine we could get back to our normal lives we think and life would be good.
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Even with a vaccine this life will end.
We may preserve it for a time.
We may keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
We may get past Covid 19.
We may live our normal lives again.
We will die.
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
The need to overcome the maladies of life is important. Sickness and death are real. Preserving life and wellness is good but it is not the Good News.
The Good News is the herald of a cure for which no cure exists or can be developed. It is pure gift in a world of hopeless denial.
It is the fullness of God’s might and power for good.
It is the power of God in humility and weakness.
It is God’s leading and guiding hand as a shepherd leads his flock and brings comfort and peace to a world of sin and death.
That dear friends is the true joy of Advent as we together prepare for the coming of God’s powerful cure for the ailment that plagues us all.
Jesus came the Heavens adoring,
Came with peace from realms on high;
Jesus came to win redemption,
Lowly came on Earth to die;
Alleluia! Alleluia! Came in deep humility
God’s power and humility seen in the gift of his son for you and for me is the Good News that is prepared this Advent!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
The cry is for a vaccine!
Surly if we just had a vaccine we could get back to our normal lives we think and life would be good.
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Even with a vaccine this life will end.
We may preserve it for a time.
We may keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
We may get past Covid 19.
We may live our normal lives again.
We will die.
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
The need to overcome the maladies of life is important. Sickness and death are real. Preserving life and wellness is good but it is not the Good News.
The Good News is the herald of a cure for which no cure exists or can be developed. It is pure gift in a world of hopeless denial.
It is the fullness of God’s might and power for good.
It is the power of God in humility and weakness.
It is God’s leading and guiding hand as a shepherd leads his flock and brings comfort and peace to a world of sin and death.
That dear friends is the true joy of Advent as we together prepare for the coming of God’s powerful cure for the ailment that plagues us all.
Jesus came the Heavens adoring,
Came with peace from realms on high;
Jesus came to win redemption,
Lowly came on Earth to die;
Alleluia! Alleluia! Came in deep humility
God’s power and humility seen in the gift of his son for you and for me is the Good News that is prepared this Advent!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
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