ADVENT'S GIFT

So much of our focus in the holiday season is on gifts. "What will I bring to the party? What shall I give to this one or that? How can I find that "perfect" gift? And the gift giving even seeps into our carols, "Yet, what can I give Him; I will give to Him my heart." What if the gift was for us and not from us? What if Advent held a gift for us each day?

Today's gift is comfort. Listen to these words of Isaiah:

"Comfort, comfort My people, 

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed;

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received double from the Lord's hand

double for all her sin.

Isaiah 40:1-2

God longs to comfort us; He speaks tenderly. He quiets us with His love. He watches us perhaps with bewilderment, like a Father perplexed at an anxious child. 

"My child, I long to comfort you. You can find no comfort here, on this earth, in others, in the haste and hurry of your days. Turn to Me and trust Me with your sorrows, with your disappointment and unmet expectations. I know the love you have for your family and friends. Do not fear, let Me comfort you and then you can bring the comfort I have given you to those you meet. My comfort is the promise of My presence, Emmanuel, I am with you. I come to dwell with you and never will I leave you or forsake you. This is the Good News: I have come to save My people from their sins."

Can we allow ourselves to be comforted this Advent season; to go to Him who is able to keep us from falling and let Him hold us in His arms. Sometimes we stumble on our own self-sufficiency. Perhaps we could make room for His comforting Presence.

Medicine from Sacred Writing:

"Blessed is Your flock since You are the Gate of it,

 and You are the Staff, You are the Shepherd, You are the Drink, You are the salt, 

You the Visitor. 

Hail to the Only-Begotten, 

that bears abundantly all manner of consolations."

Hymn VI On the Nativity 

 Ephraim The Syrian