+I like to be comfortable. After a cold walk with the dogs, I love nothing more than to change into flannel pants and a cozy sweatshirt.
We talk about comfort all the time---when someone seems really self assured and calm we say, “They’re so comfortable in their own skin.” Or when we eat a big old pot roast, or make a nice steaming stew, we say we’re indulging in comfort food.
With the wonderful phrase, “ Comfort, O Comfort my People, the prophet Isaiah is expressing a common refrain---we like to be comfortable…we long to be comfortable.
The Israelites whom Isaiah is addressing have just returned from exile; returning to a land their parents and grandparents had been forced to leave behind. A land the current generation had never lived in. For them, “home” was simply a fantasy, a place where problems never existed, where, if they could just get back, everything would be fine. But the fact is, back home, everything wasn’t ok…they had idealized the thought of “home”, they put a return to Judah on a pedestal.
I know the feeling. I bet you do too. How many of us have said, “everything will be ok, just as soon as I make a little more money, or just as soon as the kids get a bit older, or as soon as my parent’s health problems stabilize, or as soon as my boss gives me a break.”
The Israelites thought, “everything will be ok, once we get home.”
But Isaiah is saying that, while returning home was certainly soothing, it couldn’t provide the comfort they –we all—long for…because:
Only God can do that. There is one and only one source of comfort: God. We can only be comfortable once we allow ourselves to rest in the arms of God, for that is where the essence of comfort resides.
We mistake all sorts of things for comfort. Often, what we think comforting is, actually, soothing.
And soothing is qualitatively different than comforting.
To soothe is to alleviate, placate, relieve.
To comfort is to give strength and hope.
Soothing is temporary. Comfort is forever.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with being soothed---there’s an awful lot of discomfort in our daily lives which is alleviated through soothing….and, even though when the soothing ends the discomfort returns, that little respite gives us the energy to fight through the annoyances, disappointments and worries of daily life.
But sometimes really bad things happen to us: Death, illness, abuse, heartbreak and hopelessness. Things that make us feel fragile, vulnerable, at risk. When that happens, we don’t need soothing, we need, we crave, we long for, comfort.
When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I found great comfort in people who responded to the news with cursing, laments and tears. I found their reaction very honest and true. What really drove me nuts were those people who said, “oh you’ll be fine.”
I know these people were just trying to soothe me…to give me a little relief…but I didn’t want to be soothed, I didn’t want to be distracted. I couldn’t be distracted. Because-- and those of you who have dealt with deep hurt, fear and heartache know what I mean--when experiencing such gut wrenching, life changing events, nothing distracts you. You never forget what you’re going through. You can’t. Soothing may distract, but it does not comfort. And comfort is what I longed for. Comfort was what I found when I lamented, when I cried, when I cursed. Because when I fell apart, I realized I was letting go of all my control, I was letting go and I was, to steal a phrase from AA, Letting God.
A United Church of Canada minister, David Ewart says that
“[Isaiah] speaks words of comfort NOT because PEOPLE are resilient, strong, courageous, resourceful, hard-working, dedicated, etc. Indeed, Isaiah reminds us of an inescapable reality – people are like flowers and grass that wither and fade. And so too our resilience, strength, courage, resourcefulness, hard work, dedication, etc. also wither and fade with us. ..[Isaiah maintains that only one thing truly comforts us, because] only one thing never withers or fades – the word of God. ” Isaiah realized that only by letting go of the “what ifs” and the “if onlys,” the “whens” and the “one days,” do we let God’s comfort wrap around us.
God’s comfort is the one thing that doesn’t wither and fade.
As our life unfolds, things happen: our path gets crooked, our valleys become deeper, the mountains of despair grow ever higher and our spirit suffers. Soothing may take our mind off of the bumpy road, the deep valleys and the treacherous mountains of life, but when the soothing ends—and soothing always ends—we are left with the crooked, the deep and the tall troubles of life. But when we focus on comfort, when we diligently and deliberately seek comfort in our lives, the road is straightened, the valley is raised, the mountains are lowered and our spirit is buoyed.
Perhaps we all need to do a comfort inventory.
Are we ready for Comfort? Really Ready?
Because…
to get to Comfort, we have to go through lament.
to get to Comfort we have to go through the wilderness.
to get to Comfort we have to shed all the things we use to soothe us.
to get to Comfort we need to become vulnerable.
And to be vulnerable we must trust…we must trust that the Great Comforter is waiting for us, hoping for us, anxious for us to let go and to trust
--just as John the Baptist did.
--just as Mary and Joseph did.
And, just like Jesus did.
Because we, to really feel the Comfort of God, must trust all the way to the cross, the tomb and beyond.
Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the Great Comforter, to ready ourselves for accepting the presence of God in our very lives and into our very beings. It’s a time when we accept that life is not always easy, and that fixes are not always quick. It’s a time when we accept that soothing, while less risky to pursue will, in time, wither and fade. It’s a time when we, each and every one of us, must prepare our vulnerable selves to accept the greatest gift God has to offer: a baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. +
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