We are in Cincinnati OH for two weeks. Tomorrow Elizabeth is preaching at Christ Church Cathedral. I'm struck that the season that opened last week with "Comfort, comfort my people" now moves to John the Baptist's call to repent. For many of us, these might seem like contrary messages. But I think they are part of a whole that's true and life-giving.
When we hear "comfort" these days we think of relaxing, of letting go and getting what we want - a soft bed, a fluffy bathrobe. Repentance seems hard, maybe even punishing. But in fact these two ideas belong together.
God longs for us, longs for our return. When we have turned away, life is hard: hard for us, and hard for God. We may anesthetize ourselves and deny the pain, but anesthesia is not real comfort. It is not renewal or recreation. It's suspended animation, neither life nor death.
Real comfort enables us to turn back, to dare to ask forgiveness, to admit our faults and try again. Real comfort takes courage and resolve. Its reward is real, and deep, and enduring. Repentance, turning back, leads to comfort.
When Isaiah is called to "comfort" the people it is not a call to tell them what they want to hear. John the Baptist comforts the people by reminding them they have a choice and a chance. Repentance is the path of life. If you've ever cried your heart out, you know that tears cleanse and renew us.
Like Luke's prodigal father, God is waiting with open arms. The only way to comfort is to admit our failings and let ourselves be received. Then we see the one we have waited for coming to us, in everyone and everything.
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