Tidings of Comfort and Joy – Through this Advent season we are reading words of Isaiah, and today’s prophecy of “Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People” comes from chapter 40 but is also familiar to us as the first choral movement in G. F. Handel’s Messiah.  The message comes to a people whose city, Jerusalem, has been devastated, the temple destroyed, and they have been displaced and are certainly in need of comfort.  That message of comfort is followed by a command to make a straight path through the desert, lowering the mountains, raising the valleys, to prepare for the Lord’s coming.  We, too, need comfort in the midst of distress, whether personal, health related, or with respect to our world.  Isaiah can give us hope, too, and prompt us to work to make the path straight in preparation.  And in this season of awaiting the birth of the Christ child, hope and comfort are key ingredients.  (NOTE: Reflecting the importance of the Word, the video begins with the scripture, but once it starts you can scroll back to the beginning of the service if you want.  The entire service is videoed.)