Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. The prophet is writing after the experience of the destruction the temple, the conquering of the city and the exile of the people. Israel was not having a good day. Up until this moment the prophetic message had been one of chiding and fussing — repent, reform, do better. Once the calamity happened the message changed to one of hope and consolation. Often in our lives we find ourselves at different spiritual moments. There are times when we need to be brought up short, to be challenged, to change directions. There are other times when we need a word which will enable us to get through the day. When things are so bad that I might as well eat some worms we need a message reminding us that God isn’t finiahed yet, that God’s plan for us is welfare, not woe. The prophet tells Israel (and us) to buck up, to remember that God is the Lord of History and no matter things seem to be going now God intends the world to be a place of joy. Hang in there with God!
