SAINT AMBROSE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

Give comfort to my people.

In the ancient world, pagans turned to their gods for help and solutions to their problems. But this relationship was essentially a contract with the gods, a desperate attempt to “buy” divine assistance. When things went well, it meant the gods were happy; if not, they were angry. Even in good times, pagans could never say that their gods loved them, only that they had struck a successful bargain—which might not last.

Today’s first reading (Isaiah 40:1-11) gives us an entirely different picture of God. Given that Israel was utterly defeated by Babylon and their temple destroyed, Isaiah’s words must have seemed foolish. Any Gentile would have looked at Israel’s situation and concluded that their God was either powerless or didn’t care enough to help them. But Israel believed otherwise. At their lowest point, they heard God say, “Give comfort to my people” (Isaiah 40:1). God is not like the pagan gods. He keeps his covenant no matter what and promises to bring his people home.

Isaiah not only proclaimed the end of the exile but the promise of an even deeper hope as well. His words would find their ultimate fulfillment in the birth of Jesus: “Here comes with power the Lord God” (Isaiah 40:10). Not only does God love his people, but instead of forcing them to bargain with him, he promises them infinitely more than they can ever pay in return. In Jesus, they receive his comfort, his words of mercy, and eternal salvation.

God wants to speak this same message of love and comfort to us today. Through Jesus, he has bound himself to us in an unbreakable covenant. We don’t have to “buy” his love with good deeds as the pagans of old did. When things go wrong, we don’t have to take on the added fear that God has somehow abandoned us. No! At our lowest point, God looks at us with love and says, “Give comfort to my son, to my daughter.”

Today in prayer, try to have a bargain-free conversation with God. Accept his love. Welcome his mercy. Let him feed you and carry you tenderly in his arms.

“Jesus, I trust in you! Thank you for your comfort and mercy!”

Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13
Matthew 18:12-14
Isaiah 40:1-11