We have some themes going in the Scriptures
today that might make you very happy--such as Isaiah's very first word: "Comfort!"  The word itself is soothing, as in "comfort food." Well, today Isaiah brings out the comfort food for the soul.  "Comfort, console my people," says God, because the punishments the Israelites received for being unfaithful to God are finally over. Today, as we get closer to the coming of Jesus, Isaiah's theme is: "Clear a pathway through the desert--even out the rough places--and shout it out: Your God is here!"

How are we doing at cleaning up the wilderness of our hearts for the Lord God to enter in? Many times, our hearts can feel as numb and empty as a wilderness--maybe we just hear an echo, as if we're praying in a void.  At other times, we feel so choked with the injustice and cruelty of the world that we don't realize our hearts are like weed-infested gardens that desperately need clearing

out.  So it is when John pours water over the
baptized at the River Jordan.  Their eyes are opened, and they see new hope for their futures.  They are so eager to clear out the dirt and weeds of their old lives, that they begin to pour out their sins, repenting, and become eager to change.

What is your idea of repentance?  Remember that Isaiah says "Jesus is like a shepherd…
gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast…." Don't we all feel better when someone we've hurt wraps their arms around us and says, "It's okay--it's forgotten"? The Sacrament of Reconciliation offers that comfort in the name of Jesus.  And when we ask to be changed,
Jesus calls us to return to new life by receiving him into our hearts in Communion.  Now, THAT'S comfort food.

        Go in peace to love and serve our God!