(Isaiah 40)
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah dominates the season of Advent like no other. This greatest of all prophetic books expresses the hope of Israel for deliverance. The Israelis needed saving from weak kings, strong neighbors, and their own wayward hearts.
The Isaiah reading today actually comes from the second part of the book. Isaiah himself did not write this section which is often called “Deutero-Isaiah.” It describes a time near the end of the Babylonian exile after the original Isaiah’s death. Yet the new author, like the old, brilliantly portrays God’s tender love for His people.
In our passage God woos the stubborn people from the conceit. He reminds them that no one can compare with Him. They only have to trust Him, and He will provide them strength. Of course, Jesus in the gospel passage today relates the very same message.
Perhaps most people today question their faith. In a world where evil seems to roam randomly, we wonder if God cares about us at all. Or are we to God, as a character in Shakespeare’s King Lear worries, “as flies to wanton boys" who kill them “for their sport”? How can a good God allow the genocide in the Sudan or the daily carnage in Iraq? we ask. Deutero-Isaiah will urge us to let go of these doubts. When evil comes our way, God will provide the strength to withstand it. And when good times roll, God will give us the enthusiasm to enjoy them.
