This sermon was preached at Bridlington Priory Church by Rev K. F. Godfrey.
Let us pray: Gracious God, we come to you for your words - May your words speak to us, enrich us, empower us and enlighten us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
An elderly mother had three sons. The sons had gone away from their home and they had their own lives. One Easter, they decided to send gifts to their mother. The eldest son bought a big house or a mansion and sent the documents to his mother. The second one bought a luxurious car and sent it with a driver to his mother. The third son knew that his mother was religious. She used to read the Bible and now her eye-sight is not good enough to read it. So he bought a parrot and trained it for months to say different Biblical verses and sent it to her. After a while - the mother wrote - thank you letters to them. To the first one she wrote- thank you for the mansion. But I can't maintain it - all that I need is the one room in which I live now. Anyhow, thank you for your kindness. To the second one she wrote - thank you for the car but I do shopping at the shops nearby and I don't have the health to travel. Anyhow, thank you for your kindness. She hadn't even realised that the third son's gift was a parrot. So she wrote to the third son. Thank you very much for your gift. I liked it so much. The little chicken was very delicious.
Often the gifts we give are unexplained and inappropriate. But the gifts of God are explained through the scripture, they are appropriate and timely. The greatest of God's gifts to His people is God Himself. God gives himself as a comfort to His people. In the Old Testament reading, given for our meditation this morning, God says to the prophet Isaiah - Comfort, O Comfort my people says your God. Notably, for Isaiah, it is not some God who comforts some people - but it is their own God who comforts His own people. God is the possession of His chosen ones and His chosen ones are God's own possession. It is true that God has given himself as a gift of comfort to His people from the beginning - throughout centuries - until today. Just like it is a comfort to have a friendly neighbour to whom we could turn to at any time - it is a comfort to know that God is with us and we could turn to him at anytime. Even as we journey towards oneness with God, in this life, God's gift to us is his comforting presence with us always.
As we know, we live in a world where we often need comfort and encouragement. Life is not without ups and downs. We struggle when we face failures in life, we struggle when we or our beloved ones are sick and ill and we struggle when we face problems and pains in life. However, suffering and pain are not something new but even people of the Old Testament had their own problems. Today's reading from Isaiah 40, was written in a time of pain and struggle. The Israelites were in exile in Babylon. They were losing their beloved ones at the hands of the Babylonians. Further, they endured hardship in the hands of the Babylonian army. It is during this very painful time, God calls his prophet and says, Comfort, O Comfort my people says your God. God was careful to comfort his people, through Isaiah, during their time of struggle in Babylon.
According to the Bible, our life in this world is a journey towards oneness with God. During this journey pain and suffering are inevitable. It is not just a few but everyone undergoes pain at one time or another. But God uses this time to transform his people and draw them more and more close to him. Perhaps God even permits trials to help his people gain confidence in him. I sometimes think pains and struggles are more for those who live close to God. However, the good news is that God is careful to comfort His people and deliver them from their struggles. To give you a few examples, God could have - kept Joseph out of jail,… kept Daniel out of the lion's den, …kept Jeremiah from being thrown into a slimy pit,… kept St. Paul from being shipwrecked three times …and kept the three Hebrew young men from being thrown into the blazing fire - but he didn't. But just like the goldsmith carefully watches the refining pot - God carefully watched them. He comforted them and delivered them. Through their experience God helped them to abide close to him forever.
Now, how could we experience God's gift of comfort to us in our lives? In fact, it is only those who put their complete trust in God rejoice in the comforting presence of God. The Israelites turned towards God during their struggle and God comforted them through the prophet. The problem for many in our society today is that they struggle to see God's presence in and around them and put their trust in him. There is a story which says, a rabbit was born in Minnesota, a very cold place in America. It has seen only snow for many years. One day, the rabbit was taken to a warmer place and it was told that spring is coming. It thought that spring is another rabbit. The story says that after a few days, it went around asking his friends where is spring. They said - spring is everywhere and you are in the middle of spring.
This is how some look for God and His comforting presence today…They don't realise that they live in the middle of God…God is all around them…if they have the eyes to see and ears to hear…God is on the mountaintops of life, down in the valleys of life and in the plains of everyday life.
Similar to our O.T. reading, in the gospels too we read that people who came with their pains and struggles to Jesus found comfort and deliverance. One common thing among those who came to Jesus for comfort was that they forgot everything except Jesus. For instance, in Matthew 20: 30 we read of a blind man who was told by Jesus' disciples not to shout. But he shouted - Jesus, son of David - have mercy on me. The more he was told not to shout - the more he shouted. The forces which tried to resist him calling didn't matter to him. He forgot everything - except Jesus. Likewise in Luke 7: 44 read of a sinful woman who came and anointed the feet of Jesus with her tears. He was in a wealthy house…she came there with all that she had…she was surrounded people…it didn't matter…nothing stopped her to come to Jesus…she too forgot everything except Jesus. Even today, to cast our burdens unto Jesus is to forget everything except Jesus. It is to anoint his feet with our tears. Friends, when we are stuck with struggles and perils of life - we are called to forget everything except Jesus. Christ is God's greatest gift of comfort to us.
Above all, in Christ we have a God who himself underwent suffering and who participates and involves in our pains and struggles. He lived in human flesh and he knows us well. As we heard last week after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples were pathetic. They closed the doors of a house and sat inside. The doors were locked - still Jesus came in. His presence brought comfort and peace to them. Do we have such experiences? The doors may be locked but Jesus can still come in. His final promise to his disciples was, remember, I am with you always. That is Jesus' promise to us even today.
Finally, we might come to church with our pains and struggles. We need to go out refreshed, enriched and encouraged. We may come to church after toiling the whole week, we may come here with anxiety, we may come here with a low spirit - but we should go out with some great and glorious promise of God.
The promise of God is that Jesus is the fulfilment of all prophecies. He is God's gift of comfort to us. Let us continue to put our complete trust in him. In times of pain, let us forget everything except Jesus. Only then, God in Christ through His Spirit can fulfil the promise of His comfort and guidance in each of us. Isaiah says, Comfort, Oh Comfort my people says your God. Jesus said, Remember I am with you always.
Amen