The Word

Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Reflect

By Peter Roden

This text from Isaiah has a strong sense of the same push-and-pull that we all feel in our daily lives. In the prophecy, Isaiah compares the God of Israel, bringing the people back from exile in Babylon, to a shepherd carrying lambs. This joyous occasion comes after a period of seclusion and suffering. Although the return is celebrated it comes with new tasks, and the nation is forever changed by the experience of Exile.

It is hard in such context to avoid comparison to our own modern Exile during the pandemic shutdown. Like the people of Judah, we will be forever changed by that experience. Our common language has gained new phrases and expresses ideas previously foreign to us. Similarly, the writer of Isaiah borrows from the Babylonians their practice of building a parade-route—“make straight in the desert a highway”—for celebration of God.

Isaiah’s imagery is of a council of angels, sent by God to comfort his people; to speak tenderly. Instead, the council’s response to this is quite a lot of shouting, in addition to orders for road work! The angels remind us that we are God’s hands in the world. God is not building the highway; it is we who are called to build the highway, to shout the Good News, and to make God’s kingdom visible for all the people. If we don’t, the peoples’ faithfulness is sure to wither like grass.

And yet, our work is not enough. Worldly works fade, and only God is all-sufficient. God’s word and God’s promise are forever. Just as Isaiah calls back to Jacob’s charge in Genesis to return with his flock, so does John the Baptist call back to this charge from Isaiah. God’s word from these three disparate time periods resounds across the ages to us, ringing true once more.

In this season of anticipation, we look forward to welcoming, proclaiming, and making a path for Jesus in the desert. We can rest assured that God’s Word endures, for He was with God in the beginning, He comes again in power, and His reward is with Him.

Listen

By Dr. Ben Hutchens

Westminster’s Adult Choir sings a favorite anthem, “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come,” by American composer Paul Manz. This anthem is a perennial favorite of our choir and I most often program it during the seasons of Advent.  Of course, the text not only provides us with a sense of longing for the coming of the Christ Child, but also for the promised return of Jesus, our Great High Priest. Paul and (wife) Ruth Manz wrote “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” in 1953 during a time when their three-year-old son was critically ill. Reflecting on the time, Ruth Manz reported, “I think we’d reached the point where we felt that time was certainly running out so we committed it to the Lord and said, ‘Lord Jesus quickly come.'” During this time, she had prepared some text for Paul for a composition based on the Book of Revelation. While at his son’s bedside, Paul Manz began drafting the composition, which later became the current piece. Their son did recover, which the couple attributed to the power of prayer.