Sunday December 20

Scripture

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.
-Isaiah 49

Hymn - Hark, a Herald Voice is Sounding

Hark, a herald voice is sounding:
“Christ is nigh,” it seems to say.
“Cast away the dreams of darkness,
O ye children of the day!”

Meditation

We live in troubled times: news of pandemic, famine, war and natural disasters across the world fill our screens. We see this in our own cities, in our homes, and we wonder why God does not act. Thomas Aquinas talked about the “hidden God” to describe the times we cannot sense God’s presence or discern His activities. But God reminds us that although we may think He has forgotten us, He is with us in our suffering. This is our comfort: that God has compassion on us, and suffers with us. We are forever in His memory, “inscribed on the palms of my hands.”