Restoration

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.

I am grateful for the abundance of prophetic readings during Advent. The words of the prophets were so clear. No paradox here... God is mighty, and moves with a single intention: the restoration of His people.

I am drawn to the images in this reading from Isaiah -- they speak to me through sound,sight and touch.

I can hear the voices of the community of saints, as well as all of my spiritual teachers and mentors. I read Isaiah, or John of the Cross, or Henry Nouwen, the saints of the past. Or I speak to John or Mary or Maureen or Dianne...some of the saints who are walking the earth right now. They all, in their own way, add their voices to the chorus who speak of God's comfort for His people, and of God's promises for restoration of our minds and our souls.

I can see the landscape of my life being smoothed out ... My path is reformed and redirected as I walk towards a deeper relationship with the Lord, who is walking towards me in this Advent hour. I am willing to let things become different -- my priorities and my values will change as I seek to become more available to God during this Advent time. Perhaps some previously imperative activities will dissolve...they are attached to this world, and will wither and have no worth when I place them before the breath of God's word.

I lean towards the touch of God's gentle hand. I allow the self determined struggles of my mind or my will to settle into the mighty yet tender arms that will lift me up and place me upon a resting place where my soul's deepest needs are met.

Whenever I incline the ears of my heart to the word of the Lord, wherever my steps are on the path that is smooth and straight, however I can submit my illusions of strength and trust the healing, nourishing presence of God.....those are the moments of Advent for which my soul yearns!