Speak tenderly to yourself

Every Advent I like to spend some prayerful time reading and re-reading a section of the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapters 46-55, which are often referred to as  “The Book of Consolation.”  If you haven’t discovered this beautiful section of the Bible, perhaps this Advent you can explore its riches.

Isaiah 40:1-2  immediately sets the tone: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 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.

Once again, I encourage you to make the scriptural passages more personal and direct by changing the words in brackets to your own name.

Just a few things to notice from these opening verses:

·         The prophet is to speak tenderly. This is particularly important because so often we speak to ourselves in ways that are not tender, don’t we? Perhaps today you can spend some time speaking tenderly to yourself, and then as a result, perhaps you can find ways to speak tenderly to those around you.

·         “[her] warfare is ended.” Your warfare is ended. Where and how are you at war? With yourself? with others? The voice which speaks tenderly puts an end to the wars we wage.

·         “[her] iniquity is pardoned. Certainly, for serious matters we need to have recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but there are so many other matters in our life that God pardons almost before we even ask.

·         “that [she] has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Historically, this addresses the exile of Israel which they were enduring at the time the passage was written. If we personalize it, however, we might think of the consequences of our sins of both omission and commission. When we sin, we are the ones who get hurt in one way or another, either immediately or in the long term. The passage might be saying to us, “OK. Enough of that.” Let the tender voice of the Lord reach through our darkness and bring light and healing where we need it the most.

We’ll continue with our reading of The Book of Consolation next time.

Blessed Advent to you.