To begin, listen to Isaiah 40:1-3 as used by Handel in his “Messiah: Comfort Ye.”
After 39 chapters of lament (which parallel the previous books of the Old Testament, scholars say), chapter 40 marks a turn to the future for Israel and the world. We are to be comforted because God IS God and is working all things to our best benefit.
However, even God, the ultimate parent, like every parent and teacher, must reiterate it again and again for his stubborn, thick-skulled, recalcitrant children. Chapters 40-47 are a recurring litany of variations on The First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. —Luther’s Small Catechism). I AM YOUR GOD! I AM! NO other “god” will comfort Israel.
And just you wait, I AM going to rescue it by unexpected means because I AM.
How often, as we plod, trudge, and muddle through life, do we too look for help everywhere but in the arms of the great I AM? Often, we want to bargain, set the means and methods. But the great I AM who comforted and rescued Israel is working to comfort us too, working through means we cannot begin to fathom or expect.
Scholars say that from Chapter 40 onward, Isaiah prefigures the coming Christ and the fulfillment of God’s plan to rescue and reconcile the whole world to God’s self. Israel looked for an earthly warrior king to lead them, and we too succumb to the modern trappings of power, fame, and fortune. We forget that Christ humbly came to heal, to lift up the poor and lowly, and in his command to “Love one another,” He set love as the greatest act of power.
Having recently celebrated Pentecost and now in the “ordinary” time of the church year, we are called to trust that, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (40:31), because the great I AM comforts us and holds us fully in God’s care. The Spirit will empower us to love one another fully as Christ loved us.
To conclude, listen to these last verses as turned into a hymn by Michael Joncas: On Eagles’ Wings.
Doug Fox writes: Now retired after a 43-year teaching career in Lutheran parochial schools (24) and public schools (19), I keep myself busy assisting at my church, St. Mark’s, Lumberton, and participating in community choir and theatre groups.
To Consider
In what areas of your life have you forgotten God’s promise to comfort, to care, to heal, and to uplift your concerns, worries, and troubles? And how might you find comfort so you too can be lifted up?
How might you work to affect Godly comfort for others and be the wind beneath their wings to soar again?
Prayer
Lord, humble me to trust that you, the great I AM, always have me in your care, will comfort me, and direct my ways by means even I cannot expect, so that I may soar and share your and Christ’s love with all. Amen.