"Comfort, comfort."

Words spoken by a prophet known as Isaiah, spoken to a shattered, demoralized people; the ancient people of Israel. Their world had caved in on them - enemy troops overran their country, demolished their homes and engaged in a total ethnic cleansing, driving virtually all but the poorest Jews out of Palestine. It happened, said Isaiah, because these special people, whom God had claimed for His own, turned their back on Him; they considered His claims on their lives..... and ignored them, rejected them.

"You want to live on your own?" said God, "Fine. Have it your way."

Result was their world collapsed into chaos and death. Literally.

Evicted from their homes and land; sold into slavery; abused.

Now Isaiah comes preaching.... comfort.

"You people that are in turmoil, you whose lives seem at a chaotic end, who now realize that without God at the centre your lives were just an empty shell set to collapse -

- you people: take comfort for hope is on the horizon, a new future is dawning, a new beginning is about to be born.

- you people: take comfort - the suffering for your foolish ignoring and spiting of God; that suffering for your sinfulness is coming to an end. The cup of suffering, so to speak, has been filled up – double full.

(by the way – as we read that here today, understand that this phrase of v.3 "received.... double for all her sins" was making use of a standard ancient Hebrew form of speech; namely - heaped up emphasis to make the point: in this case "double" representing completeness, fullness, totality)

The suffering is doubled up, full, finished, done. Comfort is coming......

So........

People.......

Get ready!!

"Prepare the way for the Lord....."

Carve a highway through the wilderness.

Get rid of the obstacles.

And you will see holy glory, God’s glory breaking out into your life.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken -

In other words: You’ve got God’s personal and holy guarantee on this.

Now here we sit, some 2500 years or more after these words were first aired.

Still very much in need of comfort.

Perhaps that sounds strange - after all, if anyone in the world should have a claim to comfort it would be us here in Ottawa. No threats of violence like in Kosovo or East Timor. No heartache about disasters like in India or Turkey. Economy just humming along - lots of work available. Health care system that, despite cutbacks, still offers tremendous service. Social safety net that softens the harshness of hunger, clothing and housing issues on the poor. Natural scenery that is stunningly beautiful.

Comfort?

Man are we ever comfortable!!

Get that feeling?

Careful, though – let’s not get confused and mix up being comfortable with what Isaiah was proclaiming - comfort.

Being comfortable is the stuff of luxury car, solid cashflow for meeting monthly obligations, clothes you feel good in, leisure activities that are a blast.

Comfort is worried more about where things are at inside – in my head, my heart, my deep inside self - the soul.

Can I sleep with ease?

Does my stomach tighten in a knot when I think about the future?

Am I able to go through the rhythm of my weekly routine with a secure sense of what I’m doing and why –

of where I fit, and why I bother doing what I’m doing and living how, where and when I’m living?

Comfort is that inner something which I can grab hold of and gain stability, security and a sense of "hey, it’s alright and going to be alright"......

even when things may be in chaos all around.

That kid of comfort is very different – countries miles apart – from being comfortable.

Can you see that?

The stuff of being comfortable is the stuff that Isaiah talks about in v.6-8. It’s the stuff that doesn’t last: devalues, rusts, becomes boring, gets lost.

the grass withers and the flowers fall......

Comfort: What you can grab hold of and gain stability for today, for tomorrow, forever: Rather - who you can grab hold of! Listen to the prophet:

Here is your God! See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power..... See.... He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart....

That’s where comfort is to be found!!

The God of power.

The God of careful caring.

Power – creative controlling power that made the universe... stars, mountains, oceans, animals.... and us. Read about that in v.12-26.

Careful caring – always awake, never forgetting us, never growing tired or bored in protective guarding; strength giving, hope inspiring: read about that in v.27-31.

Today marks the beginning of the Christian season of Advent – a time of preparing, preparing for the coming of Comfort, comfort come at Christmas. Please, my friends – in this season with lots of Millennial fun and frivolity; the season of presents and parties...

– please don’t get so wrapped up in the stuff of being comfortable (you know: log on the fire, egg nog, sleigh rides, gatherings and gifts) that you miss out on the comfort.

AND

- those of you that will miss out on the comfortable things: because there will be empty places in your home that cause your heart to ache; or because you won’t be able to afford gifts, or don’t have friends with whom to gather. If the focus is on the "being comfortable" thing..... well, Christmas time will be one of the heaviest, darkest seasons of the year. And – the comfort will be missed.

Hear the prophets – build a highway in the wilderness, smash down the mountains, fill in the valleys:

In other words, get all the distractions, preoccupations, and the like out of the way. Clear a path so that God can come into the centre of your life. To put it in Advent terms, clear a path so that the One whose birth we celebrate, the Son of God who came to earth to fully pay for all our sin - double payment, the Son of God who said, "One day I am coming back".....

– that this Son of God, Jesus, can come into our lives.

That’s what Tim’s stand here this morning making profession of faith was all about. That’s what Tim & Celeste promised to work for in the life of Noah.

That’s what someone talked about this week: one of our community here at Calvin. "Ken," he said, "for years I was floating around the outside. Didn’t think much about God. Didn’t talk about it. Was too busy. But a few months ago that all changed. I realized I had to change my priorities, put God first. I can point almost to the day it happened. And the difference has been huge. My life has new focus More secure. I can walk around, doing whatever I’m doing, knowing that I’m not walking alone. Jesus is walking right along beside me. It’s awesome!"

The glory of the Lord has been revealed in his life!

And that’s the purpose of where we’re headed in a couple of minutes – to the Communion Table. You will be invited to take in bread, to drink in the cup. Representing the body and blood of Jesus. We believe that as we do that we are spiritually and really opening ourselves to the power and caring work of God’s Spirit to flow into us; to work and build in us.

To build a foothold on which we can stand to face whatever life will throw at us. We don’t know what the future will throw at Tim. He had one curve ball already this Fall, the close call that landed him in hospital, hours from death. God brought you, Tim, safely through. And we don’t know, Celeste & Tim, what the future will be for Noah. My friends, we don’t know what the new millennium will bring for any of us.

But we know who, in power, holds that millennium.

And we know who cares for us as we enter that millennium.

Come to communion and grab hold of Him.

Surrender. Invite Him to hold you, surround you, go with you.

For when you do the greatest of comforts will be yours.

As one person put it – My greatest, my ONLY comfort is that I belong, body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins and set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven.... I belong to Him! And He, Christ, has sent His Spirit into me, working on making me whole-heartedly willing and ready, from now on, to live for Him. [adapted from Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 1].

My friends - this real, comfort-filled life is waiting for you.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken. His promise is sure.

Don’t pass it by.