The people are exiled in Babylon, their capital city and Temple destroyed. The prophet Isaiah has offered them assurance that they are not abandoned by God. In yesterday’s first reading the message was: your trials are not without purpose – it is a time for you to remember the choices that brought these troubles into your lives but also to remember that God is both just and compassionate. The prophet assures them that their hardship will end; they will be restored.

I can imagine that while the prophet’s message was indeed assuring, at the same time there are questions of how this will come to pass. Could it be that the gods of the Babylonians are more powerful than Yahweh? Isaiah 40:25-31 addresses that doubt and offers a powerful reminder of God’s unparalleled strength and enduring care for His people. The passage begins with a rhetorical question: “To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One.” (Is 40:25)

While the prophet recognizes there are other “powers” in the world, they are limited and transitory – such as the Babylonian Empire which will soon pass into history. But there is one power that is infinite and enduring: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.” (Is 40:28)

The people are weary and weighed down by life’s burdens. Sound familiar? Sometimes we simply need to remember that we worship God who does not grow weary, not even of our rebellion and sinfulness. We can wonder “where is God in all this?” but we need to take a deep breath and remember,

The Advent season is a time for us to remember and anticipate the coming of Christ, who embodies God’s care and salvation for the weary. Just as Isaiah assures us that God gives strength to the faint and empowers the powerless, Advent reminds us of the hope and renewal that Jesus brings: “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” (Is 40:31)

During Advent, this passage encourages us to place – and sometimes to again place our hope in the Lord, trusting in His promises even in the midst of life’s challenges. Sunday’s gospel, echoing Isaiah, speaks of the mountains made low and the way made smooth. Just the way it looks when one soars on eagle’s wings in joyful expectation, confident that He sustains us and fulfills His promises.

There are days when we are weary, perhaps bordering on despair, wondering who or what can save us. We feel powerless. But may we never feel abandoned. God was ever with His chosen people as He is with us: “In him we were also chosen …  we who first hoped in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:11-12)  Advent is a gift to us, a time to remember and with renewed faith, anticipating the birth of  Christ, allowing our spirits to be lifted with the assurance of God’s love and redemption.

In his day, Jesus said to the crowds, as He says to us now: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28) Weary no longer, restored and renewed, ready for an uncertain tomorrow, but assured that we will soar, lifted in the love of God.

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Image credit: Prophet Isaiah, Mosaic, Right of Lunette, South Wall of Presbytery, Basilica of San Vitale | PD-US | Pexels