Sermon on Isaiah 40:1-8, for the 3rd Sunday in Advent, "Double Comfort"
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Although 2,700 years is quite a long shot from “forever”—it is still a respectable distance from which we can see and recognize the enduring power and comfort of God’s word, which stands forever. 2,700 years ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote these words of comfort in Isaiah 40, which still “speak to our heart” today. They speak of a double comfort for all that God’s people have suffered for their sins. The passage also speaks of John the Baptist as the herald who would announce the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord who would traverse the wilderness and reveal His glory to us. The Word of the Lord stands forever, bringing a message of solid comfort and hope, across the centuries, despite all the changes and chances of life while several dozens of generations have flourished and then withered away like the flowers and grasses of the field. In human life, whenever we extend a gesture of comfort—it logically follo...