Isaiah 40:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 40:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 40Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Verse 2Speak 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.
Verse 3A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Verse 4Every 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. Verse 5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Verse 6A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. Verse 7The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. Verse 8The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
Verse 9Get 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!" Verse 10See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. Verse 11He 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.
Devotion
God's first words to the newly-freed nation of Israel are those of comfort. "I will take care of you in your freedom," God says. Even today, as free as we are in America, we rarely heed God's call. We try to build up so much in our search for eternity: our fortunes, our houses, our legacies. And yet God reminds us that all people are grass. All people are flowers. Our kingdoms will wither and fade. And yet God, the One who sees us, the One who saw all those who came before us and the One who will see all those who come after us, stoops down to inspect us like a gentle gardener inspecting tender plants, grasses and tiny blossoms. The gardener wants to comfort us, for we are not too tiny or ephemeral for God.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for your holy comfort. Your word stands forever. Help us grow peacefully in your beautiful garden. Amen.