COMFORT
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Comfort.”
It’s the first word in today’s opening reading from Isaiah.
“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.”
Question: should I preach on the theme of comfort?
Shouldn’t I be preaching on the cross?
Yet, I thought, but there will be time enough for that – many a time for that – Lent and Good Friday – and funerals – those 2 or 3 funerals we attend each year – and more as we get older – and even then, especially then, the theme of comfort would be very helpful.
“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.”
MOTIVATION
I have always been interested in the question of motivation. What’s behind what we do? Why? Why? Why?
Fear? Lust? Power? Prestige? Vanity? Money? Ego? Hunger? Love? Anger? Frustration? To send a message?
Seeing that word “comfort” jump off the page in the first reading, I began wondering, how strong a motive is comfort?
COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE – 11 QUESTIONS
Here are 11 questions. Answer "Yes" or "No".
1) When you just finished dinner at someone’s house and the dinner was horrible and they say "How was everything?", are you comfortable saying, “Everything was fine!”?
2) When you have just talked about someone behind their back and you see their best friend is there and they go off to the side and take out their cell phone, are you comfortable?
3) When you lie, are you comfortable?
4) When you’re in a borrowed car, do you adjust the driver’s seat for your comfort or do you leave it as is – thinking about the owner of the car who lent it to you – and you know you won’t be able to get it back to the way that person likes it for himself or herself?
5) When you’re in a car with 4 people and you’re in the passenger seat next to the driver and there is someone in the seat behind you, do you move your seat up, so as to make sure the person behind you has enough leg room?
6) When you have a guest staying overnight in your house, do you make sure they have an extra blanket on a cold night?
7) When you’re in church and the rows are long, do you move into the middle, so as to let folks into the benches without climbing over you?
8) When someone wants the outside seat and you have to climb over them, do you assume their motivation is claustrophobia or diarrhea or urinary problems – and they might need to move to the bathroom on the double?
9) When you’re parking your car on the street and you know the folks next door are up there in age and like the spot right in front of their house, and you could take it, because someone is in your usual spot, but you park down the street, so as to make it convenient for your neighbors?
10) When you’re all alone with yourself, are you comfortable with yourself or is anger or anxiety or inadequacy or guilt your middle name?
1) When you just finished dinner at someone’s house and the dinner was horrible and they say "How was everything?", are you comfortable saying, “Everything was fine!”?
2) When you have just talked about someone behind their back and you see their best friend is there and they go off to the side and take out their cell phone, are you comfortable?
3) When you lie, are you comfortable?
4) When you’re in a borrowed car, do you adjust the driver’s seat for your comfort or do you leave it as is – thinking about the owner of the car who lent it to you – and you know you won’t be able to get it back to the way that person likes it for himself or herself?
5) When you’re in a car with 4 people and you’re in the passenger seat next to the driver and there is someone in the seat behind you, do you move your seat up, so as to make sure the person behind you has enough leg room?
6) When you have a guest staying overnight in your house, do you make sure they have an extra blanket on a cold night?
7) When you’re in church and the rows are long, do you move into the middle, so as to let folks into the benches without climbing over you?
8) When someone wants the outside seat and you have to climb over them, do you assume their motivation is claustrophobia or diarrhea or urinary problems – and they might need to move to the bathroom on the double?
9) When you’re parking your car on the street and you know the folks next door are up there in age and like the spot right in front of their house, and you could take it, because someone is in your usual spot, but you park down the street, so as to make it convenient for your neighbors?
10) When you’re all alone with yourself, are you comfortable with yourself or is anger or anxiety or inadequacy or guilt your middle name?
11) Are you comfortable with "Yes" "No" questionnaires, that don't provide an "All Depends" or "Undecided" or "Sometimes" possibility?
SECOND ISAIAH
Today’s first reading is the beginning of what they call, "Deutero-Isaiah" or "Second Isaiah" – Chapters 40 to 55. It’s also called “The Book of Comfort.”
It wasn’t till the 18th Century that scholars began to say that all 66 chapters of Isaiah were not from the same author. Some had thought that centuries before – like Ibn Ezra who lived around 1167 – but in the 18th century, scholars were saying the first part of Isaiah was from 150 years earlier and this section of Isaiah was written to speak to those in the Babylonian Exile. (1)
There was a call to give comfort to the people in slavery and to give them the hope of a New Exodus.
Obviously, hopefully, every human being wants to give comfort to those in horrible situations - those in Darfur or those in Somalia or those out of work – or those whose house burnt down.
Hopefully our heart feels anguish for the homeless on these cold nights.
Hopefully our heart feels the pain of the family that is ripped apart by a death – a tragedy – a crime – a rape – a horror.
When I walk down the corridor at St. Mary’s Rectory on Duke of Gloucester Street on Monday evening or Wednesday afternoon, I feel for all the poor that the people of St. Mary’s are helping – especially those who volunteer their time and love ministering in our St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Comfort. Give comfort to my people.
BAPTISM OF JESUS
Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus.
Looking at the readings, one key message for this feast is that it is celebrating the moment Jesus starts his public ministry.
He goes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist – and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove – we’ve seen that image in church art – and vestments – comes down from the heavens and lands on Jesus. Then a voice also comes from the heavens and says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
I’ve often wondered if the reference to the dove is a reference to the story of Noah who sends out the dove from the ark on the flooded earth – and the dove comes back empty beaked – and Noah sends it out again after 7 days and this time it comes back bearing an olive branch – and Noah knew there was land somewhere – and he waited another 7 days and he sent it out again – and this time it did not return – and Noah knew the horror was over.
Is the message of the landing of the dove on Jesus the message that with Jesus the horror is over?
Is the message of the voice from heaven that Jesus is the Beloved Son and when we realize that’s how he treated every person he met – as a beloved son or daughter, brother or sister, when we do that, we will be doing our part to bring peace in this world and an end to horror stories.
CONCLUSION
And how do we bring peace – bring comfort to our world?
One way is to do what Jesus did – wash feet, listen to people, heal and feed people – or as Second Isaiah put it: Comfort. Give comfort to my people.
SECOND ISAIAH
Today’s first reading is the beginning of what they call, "Deutero-Isaiah" or "Second Isaiah" – Chapters 40 to 55. It’s also called “The Book of Comfort.”
It wasn’t till the 18th Century that scholars began to say that all 66 chapters of Isaiah were not from the same author. Some had thought that centuries before – like Ibn Ezra who lived around 1167 – but in the 18th century, scholars were saying the first part of Isaiah was from 150 years earlier and this section of Isaiah was written to speak to those in the Babylonian Exile. (1)
There was a call to give comfort to the people in slavery and to give them the hope of a New Exodus.
Obviously, hopefully, every human being wants to give comfort to those in horrible situations - those in Darfur or those in Somalia or those out of work – or those whose house burnt down.
Hopefully our heart feels anguish for the homeless on these cold nights.
Hopefully our heart feels the pain of the family that is ripped apart by a death – a tragedy – a crime – a rape – a horror.
When I walk down the corridor at St. Mary’s Rectory on Duke of Gloucester Street on Monday evening or Wednesday afternoon, I feel for all the poor that the people of St. Mary’s are helping – especially those who volunteer their time and love ministering in our St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Comfort. Give comfort to my people.
BAPTISM OF JESUS
Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus.
Looking at the readings, one key message for this feast is that it is celebrating the moment Jesus starts his public ministry.
He goes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist – and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove – we’ve seen that image in church art – and vestments – comes down from the heavens and lands on Jesus. Then a voice also comes from the heavens and says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
I’ve often wondered if the reference to the dove is a reference to the story of Noah who sends out the dove from the ark on the flooded earth – and the dove comes back empty beaked – and Noah sends it out again after 7 days and this time it comes back bearing an olive branch – and Noah knew there was land somewhere – and he waited another 7 days and he sent it out again – and this time it did not return – and Noah knew the horror was over.
Is the message of the landing of the dove on Jesus the message that with Jesus the horror is over?
Is the message of the voice from heaven that Jesus is the Beloved Son and when we realize that’s how he treated every person he met – as a beloved son or daughter, brother or sister, when we do that, we will be doing our part to bring peace in this world and an end to horror stories.
CONCLUSION
And how do we bring peace – bring comfort to our world?
One way is to do what Jesus did – wash feet, listen to people, heal and feed people – or as Second Isaiah put it: Comfort. Give comfort to my people.
That’s our call – that’s our baptismal call.
Obviously we couldn’t do it, if and when we were baptized as a baby, but the day hopefully comes or has come, when we begin our second baptism – our call from God like the call of this Isaiah in today’s first reading or Jesus in the gospel to bring comfort to his people.
(1) The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy, "Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah," p. 329. This section was written by Carrol Styhlmueller, C.P.
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