Walk gently

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“Take a breather.” It is not always easy to stand up for what is right. The prophet Isaiah was aware of this when he spoke the words found in today’s first reading (Isaiah 40:1-11). Just make way through the hard times, through the dark spaces, through the wilderness. For it is through these cracks, these places that are hard to find, that the Lord will find a way to penetrate your heart and give you strength and spirit to carry on. And when the Lord enters your inner being, she will give you the voice to cry out with joy. It works. You’ve arrived. It’s beautiful. This is the moment we all hope for, the moment when we can greet the Lord and feel at peace in his presence. That is why the psalmist today in Psalm 95 can sing a new song. It hasn’t been heard before, a song that expresses joy for what is new, for that which we have longed for, for what is we have stood up for, for what is right. It’s time to “take a breather”. Yes, you can feel lost and wondering what’s the point. Everybody else is okay. But you feel so alone, abandoned. Just rest for a moment. The Lord will find you. As John said, the point is not so much your love for God but God’s love for you. God will find you. That’s what this season of hope and expectation is all about. In the end, it is God who cries out with joy. What a marvellous image. The heavens ringing out with joy for unto us a child is born. “I once was lost, but now I have been found.” Give it time. You and I will arrive at this point where we’ve been before and discover it anew. It is the place of encounter because in that place the little ones, the insignificant ones, the lost ones are at home. “Take a breather”. Rest easy. You were never really lost. You just needed time. Fortunately, the patience of God is eternal. Walk gently, sister, brother. The eternal One will find her way and so will you.