Tender Comfort

Tuesday, December 06, 2016

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated. (Isaiah 40:1-2)

Thus begins the section of the Book of the prophet Isaiah which is often referred to as the “Book of Comfort.” Let us take comfort from its wonderful messages and let us make them our own.

As always, and particularly during the season of Advent, I encourage you to take the words Jerusalem or Israel as referring to you personally as your practice your lectio divina. Here are some suggestions that you might find helpful in your prayer:

God speaks to the prophet and tells him to give his people comfort. May you receive that gift today and throughout the season of Advent. How do you need to be comforted? What area of your life is marked by struggle, toil, defeat, pain or anxiety? Can you invoke God’s comfort and experiencing it touching those areas of your life?

In your prayer, realize that through the prophet your God is speaking tenderly to you. What does a tender voice sound like? When is the last time anyone has spoken tenderly to you? When is the last time you have spoken tenderly to someone else? Can you open yourself to receive the tenderness of your God as He speaks words of comfort to you? Remember what I said yesterday: the magnitude of the gift depends on our readiness and our openness to receive what God wants to give us. Let in the tenderness.

God also speaks of the expiation of guilt. Is this too good to be true? Present to God the one or two things in your life that you are most guilty about, and ask to have that guilt expiated. If you haven’t already done so in the past, this might also be a good time to go receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to allow the grace and forgiveness of that wonderful sacrament to wash you, to comfort you, and to hear the voice of the priest saying to you “I absolve you from all of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Rest within the dynamic grace of the Trinity, realize that the Trinity invites you too to become part of the flow of love within it (see Rohr: The Divine Dance for more about the dynamic relationships within the Trinity). Rest there.

There are many more blessings offered in this first chapter of the “Book of Consolation.” We will consider more of it on Thursday and Friday. (I have something different planned for you tomorrow.)

But for today, rest in these three words of blessing: Comfort, tenderness, and expiation.

God bless you!