We’ve just completed a difficult
year. Twelve months ago, as we approached the familiar stories and scriptures
of Advent and Christmas, life was “normal.” We moved about as we wished; we
prepared for Christmas; we went to movies; we attended concerts; kids went to school;
we bought what we wanted; we went out to restaurants; we visited friends and
friends visited us; we assembled in groups larger than 10; we went shopping; we
went to church; we went to work and received paychecks; we did all these things
and a thousand more ... all without a second thought.
A few months later, in what seemed
like the blink of an eye, our lives were turned upside down. You know what
happened next because it happened to all of us. The entire world was suddenly
different than any of us had ever experienced. Everything about life was
affected: families, school, work, shopping, health care, eating, travel for
work and travel for fun, finances, exercise ... every aspect of our lives was
affected in one way or another.
So today, when we hear the ancient
words, “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God,” our ears might strain to
hear more. We wonder, is there comfort for us?
A
brief history lesson
Israel had a very mixed history up
to the time of our scripture lesson. Delivered from slavery in Egypt under God’s
blessing and Moses’ leadership, the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness
headed for the promised land. After Moses’ death, Joshua led them across the
Jordan River and into the land God had promised to Abraham. Once in the land,
they were ruled for about 400 years by a series of judges including Deborah,
Gideon and Samuel.
Eventually the Israelites petitioned
God for a king. There was a unified monarchy under three kings: Saul, David and
Solomon. This united nation lasted about 165 years. The nation split in about
930 BC into two nations: Israel, the no
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