Comfort ye, my People

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Easter II, 2011
May 8th, 2011
Good Shepherd Sunday

“Comfort ye my people…”

Isaiah 40:1-2: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.”

Comfort. What a wonderful word. What a warm, soft, beautiful word in all that it conveys. I picture, personally, a snowy day in Illinois outside, with a warm fire, a soft blanket and a cup of delicious coffee at hand inside. On the other hand, here in Texas, I picture comfort as a nice cool bedroom at night, with the air conditioning going when it is hot and sultry outside.

Yet, comfort may be an unappreciated word, sometimes in our all-too-comfortable society. We really don’t tolerate discomfort very well, which is both a glory of our modern society as well as its curse. Perhaps we really are too comfortable. Goodness knows that most modern Americans will tolerate nothing else. Let me also issue a disclaimer for any perceived negativity here, however. The very fact that we Americans have such manifold comfort available to us is a great blessing from Almighty God and one for which we should be very thankful. Without issuing platitudes from the pulpit, we should keep in mind and pray for those who live without daily comfort.

Isaiah, the mighty prophet of the coming Messiah, speaks to the people of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, who after many years of repeated warnings have been conquered by the Assyrians and carried away captive. Some commentators tell us that this particular passage occurs during the first exile in Babylon. In their misery of exile, Isaiah speaks “comfort” to them, telling them that they have received double recompense at the Lord’s Hand for all their sins.

Recall that the majority of Isaiah’s ministry dealt with the apostasy of Israel. Consider these lines from the very first verses of his prophecy, Isaiah 1:3-4: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

As he continues verse after verse and chapter after chapter, Isaiah rightly complains of the idol worship, the lax morals, and the corrupt lifestyle of the Israelites. They were corrupt, idolatrous and immoral. Finally, when God saw there was to be no repentance, judgment in the form of foreign invasion and enslavement occurred. The punishment was so severe that even Isaiah comments that they received “double” punishment for their sins. Wesley terms it as this: “Double — Not twice as much as her sins deserved, but abundantly enough to answer God's design in this chastisement, which was to humble and reform them, and to warn others by their example.”

Yet now, according to the prophecy, Israel was to receive comfort from her vexations and punishments. She was to be assured that her “warfare”, her tribulation in the world, was completed or accomplished and that her iniquity was forgiven. The Hebrew word “ratsah” actually means to be favorably disposed towards or kindly to. If one could perceive God’s “mood” so to speak, it may be one of kindliness or good favor. Even though God’s wrath had been kindled towards His People, their punishment has expiated this.

As an aside, we know that God in all His fullness does not experience “wrath” or emotions like it. Our God is completely and eternally serene in every aspect, not like the Greek and Roman gods that acted merely like overgrown humans (even children) in their hatreds, loves, jealousies, and foibles. No, our God the Holy Trinity simply IS, for all eternity.

How then, does God visit retribution on His People, seeing that He Himself is beyond emotion and thus beyond the feelings of anger, jealousy, and rage? How can we even say, “the Wrath of God?” While that topic is beyond the scope of this brief address, suffice it to say that God’s absolute Holiness and absolute justice demand that some recompense occurs to atone for sins against Him. Yet, being the font of eternal love, God Himself paid the price for these offenses.

This is exactly what Isaiah speaks about when he tells us that a Voice is crying:”The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” This voice is God, telling us to prepare the way for His Son. In language used later by John the Baptizer, it is a voice crying in the wilderness. One cannot but help to hear the stirring tenor notes of Handel’s aria as one reads these lines. His monumental “Messiah” sets the powerful words of Isaiah into even more powerful musical communication that magnifies and even transcends our ability to hear the written word alone. In this case, we are moved to prepare our inner beings as dwelling places for the Holy Spirit.

Typical with Isaiah is his ability to project his prophetic voice both near and far. By that, we mean that he speaks both to the near-term easing of Israel’s distress, which, although some years off, would eventually happen, and to the long-term prophecy of the coming Christ. We see both in this passage as the people receive a comfortable word in the present, while at the same time Isaiah speaks movingly of the Christ to come. Although the presence of man fades, for we are but grass, the word of God lasts forever. Thus, we clamber into the mountains and proclaim to the world, “Behold your God!” He will come with a strong hand and a strong arm to do his work.

What work will this be? It is pastoral, natural and beautiful: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

At once we are propelled into the Gospel era as St. John relates how Christ said, 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” In fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, Christ proclaims Himself to be what he is, the Bishop and Captain of our souls.

Note, please, what the Voice was crying in the wilderness: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the sheep. Not as a hired worker, who sees the danger and flees, but rather as a courageous shepherd who knows his sheep and is known by them. Interestingly, although sheep are easily led, they do not follow just anybody. They know their shepherd’s voice and follow only him. Conversely, the shepherd knows his sheep and does everything he can for their welfare, up to and including giving his own life to protect them.

Thus, to quote the old gospel hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!” What a Friend indeed.

There is only One who will save you from an uncertain eternal afterlife: Jesus. There is only One who saves your soul from the piercing, totally accurate justice of God and replaces it with mercy: Jesus. There is only one Good Shepherd who is able to fill your soul with the holy love and grace it so desperately wants: Jesus.

Jesus reaffirms his relationship with God the Father as He tells us that in the way that His sheep know Him, He is known of the Father. This is a special relationship made perfect by perfect love in the community of the Holy Trinity.

In one last affirmation of hope and unity, Christ tells us that he has other sheep that must join his flock. Although not of this fold, they too must and will be brought along with Christ
This is most glorious, for it foretells the wonderful day when all Christian divisions will cease “and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

With our limited human vision, we can’t see any way that the gaping divisions in the Church can be healed. Denominations tend to divide; once divided, they tend to keep dividing. Some of the reasons for our divisions are valid, others occur for less-than-ultimate issues. Yet, in the mystery and glory of God’s perfect vision, there will occur a day when all Christians will worship the Holy Trinity in one church. What a glorious day that will be! Imagine a church where unity of vision and unity of purpose is the focus, rather than the disagreements that divide us. It will be a miracle indeed. It will be one that only the Good Shepherd can bring about.

One last question remains to be asked: are you under the care of the Good Shepherd?
Have you entrusted your life, both here and forever, into the Hands of the One who can see it safely to eternal pasture? If there is any area of your soul where some “hold back” occurs, or where you are less than enthusiastic about the Good Shepherd’s directions? If so, let it go. Let it go and experience both the freedom from self and the wonderful peace of being in God. Let it go and allow the Good Shepherd to provide eternal pasture for your needy soul.

After all, this is what Good Shepherd Sunday is all about. It is about giving your soul what it so desperately needs, the sacred pasture of Christ.






To conclude, let us consider these brief lines:
Psalm 23. Dominus regit me.

THE Lord is my shepherd; * therefore can I lack nothing.
2 He shall feed me in a green pasture, * and lead me
forth beside the waters of comfort.
3 He shall convert my soul, * and bring me forth in the
paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil; * for thou art with me; thy
rod and thy staff comfort me.
5 Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence
of them that trouble me; * thou hast anointed my head
with oil, and my cup shall be full.
6 Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life; * and I will dwell in the house of
the Lord for ever.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.