When you think of comfort, does the image of a warm blanket come to mind? A comforter; soft, fluffy, wrapping around you, like the hug of someone close? That’s an image that can bring consolation and solace, but here’s another idea; what about a rock face, a bluff, like this one we camped beside in Buchan recently? The word comfort comes from the Latin: ‘com’ a prefix meaning with or together; and ‘fort’ meaning strength. We can offer comfort by bringing our strength alongside others. We can be comforted when someone lends their strength to us.
This past week I heard that this is likely to be the last Christmas for a friend who has been struggling with ill-health and that another is having urgent surgery, embarking on the journey of cancer treatment. For them, and for all those we know facing similar challenges, I’m praying that they find the comfort they need, the strength beside them when they are at their most vulnerable.
There’s a line in the Hebrew Text from the prophet Isaiah that says, “Comfort, comfort my people.” We read it and we say it, and sometimes in a COVID-safe way, we sing it. As Christians we believe that the strength of God is alongside us. The strength of the most powerful and creative love, that never abandons us, even in the toughest times and darkest valleys of life. This isn’t a deluded ‘everything will work out just fine’ kind of comfort, because we know that’s not the reality of life. It’s the kind of comfort that assures us that there’s a force beyond our own capacities that we can draw on, a tender power that knows and holds us and that will not let us go.
Maybe there are other images of comfort for you; a mother’s arms, a shepherd, your dearest canine companion, chicken soup, the ocean, a firm hand to hold… may you find the comfort you need for the times ahead and may you lend your strength to others on the way.
blessings
Rev. Jennie Gordon
greater far than tongue or pen 