Advent 7: Comfort

Scripture: 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:1-3) 

Song: At the Foot of the Cross


Part of Jesus' job description is a comforter. In Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus speaks to the people in the temple he claims the words of the prophet Isaiah as his own and says that he is the one who fulfils them (Luke 4:16-20)

Jesus says that he has come to “bind up the broken-hearted.” Healing hurting hearts was - and is - his mission; it was his reason for coming and it is what he is in the business of doing today.

In our current climate, this is exactly who we need Jesus to be. We are all in need of comfort. We all have wounds that need to be bound.

The Jesus that we see in the bible is a man who is familiar with sorrow. He does not stand on the edge of human hurt. He is not a distant God who stands unmoved. He does not watch us crying with a cold and hardened heart. He wades right in and lives amongst us. He embraces the mess of life as a human being. He experiences the fullness of its joys and its pains. He walks amongst those who grieve and hurt and get angry. He kneels beside Martha and Mary in the dirt to weep with them over the death of their brother. (John 11:35) He is moved by compassion for the crowds of people who wander the streets. (Matthew 9:36) He stops what he is doing to comfort a bereaved mother because his heart is pained by her loss. (Luke 7:11-16)

God's heart of compassion is perfectly revealed in his Son, Jesus. He is the Father of Compassion, the God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3) He longs to be welcomed into our hurt. Answers do not come easily. Grief is not quickly abated. The loss and confusion of this year is raw and painful. But Jesus promises to be with us in the midst of our pain, even as we struggle to make sense of it.

My anger often prevents me from acknowledging this. I am so busy being mad at God that I refuse the comfort that is offered. I won't let God share my grief with me because I'm too busy blaming him for causing it. I am waiting to be comforted, and yet I lash out at the one who tries to do it. But Jesus is persistent. Faithful. Unchanging. He will comfort us. If we let him.

Reflection: 

Father of compassion, I pray that I would know you in the midst of everything that today brings. I choose to acknowledge you in pain and in joy, in sorrow and in laughter. You are the comforter. Help me to remember that. Do not let me cut you off from what I am going through. Do not let me block you out from my struggle, my questions, my doubt. I welcome you in today. I ask for your comfort today, for myself and for this world which so desperately needs it. Help me to know you as the comforter that you are. Amen.