Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 - 2nd Week of Advent - Tues
[Isa 40:1-11 and Matt 18:12-14]TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 TUESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT. [St. Nicholas] [Isaiah 40:1-11 and Matthew 18:12-14] Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is ended, that your guilt is expiated, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. [Isaiah] I almost prefer to have Handel's MESSIAH playing when the glorious words of the "Book of Comfort" from "second Isaiah" appear. The music captures the mood of the words in a way that has never been matched. The last words of today's passage: "Like a shepherd, he feeds his flock...," are captured in the gospel scripture today in the image of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine safe sheep and goes after the lost one. The Lord has a "preferential option" for the sinner! Isaiah was speaking to exiles in Babylon preparing to return to the ruins of Jerusalem. But he could be preaching to many of us today in this season. We all have some wreckage that needs tender care to restore. We need assurance of God's mercy in our efforts to "prepare the way" for the birth of Jesus. John the Baptist is a little scary, but we can handle his startling alarm clock if we know that the Lord is ready to soothe with mercy. All the frazzling demands of the secular celebration take on a different tone if we place the Lord's coming and his mercy in the forefront. A straight path and a restored city make all the rest possible. Go for it! AMEN