December 4, 2011
Advent 2 - The Gift of Comfort
- Isaiah 40:1-11
- Dr. Teri Thomas
A voice crying in the wilderness.
What do you think of?
The wilderness is not a hospitable place.
Dry, parched, desolate, empty.
The wilderness is dangerous and frightening.
It is a place to pass through, not a place to live.
We all have a wilderness-
a relationship that is devoid of life
an addiction or an illness that holds us captive
a suffocating grief or uncontrollable anger
debilitating fear, anxiety or depression
What is your wilderness?
Where is the place you would rather not go?
What is the wilderness you long to escape?
In that wilderness listen to the words of the prophet-
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Comfort stands in stark contrast to wilderness.
Comfort is where it is cozy, warm, safe.
Comfort is where we are content.
Comfort is where we want to be.
God wills comfort and consolation
for those in the depths of despair
even in the wilderness.
God depends on human as well as divine agents
to deliver that comfort.
The comfort is for us
and the comfort is our to deliver to others in need.
In 2005 this congregation took on the resettlement of a refugee family from Eritrea. The oldest son in the family is now making applications for college. He shared with me his application essay and gave me permission to share it with you.
My name is Keflome Gebrenegus and I have a twin brother. I’m from Mymanie, Eritrea. I came to America because of life challenges that my family and I faced. The conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia affected so many people. During this war, both countries were unstable countries. Nothing was safe.
When my brother and I turned five years old, my mother made the unthinkable choice that one of us would go to live with my grandfather. Because of the challenges she faced as a single mother with kids, it was one less mouth to feed. I wanted to go anywhere with my mom, but my brother, Angsom, didn’t really care as long as he had someone he knew. One early morning, my mother woke us up. Out of nowhere, my mom says to my twin brother that “Yamane is going to take you to Grandpa.” I was standing in the doorway and I could hear that my mom’s voice didn’t sound like her normal voice, but I was too young to recognize that voice. My mother came behind me and put her arms around me. I thought she wanted to hug me, but this was a plan so that I didn’t run behind them. My brother was walking out the door. He turned around, smiled at me, and waved his hands. I looked up at my mom. She had tears in her eyes. As soon as he turned around the corner, I started crying, but my mother held me tight.
Three years later, we heard a rumor about a camp in Shimelbya which was sponsored by the UNHCR, the United Nation High Commission on Refugees. The area was crowded with houses made of tents and people everywhere. After we got to the camp, we heard about America. My family was chosen to leave because we didn’t lie in our interview and gave honest answers, but we didn’t put Angsom’s name on our form. I was young, so I didn’t know what to say or do. When I saw my mom, she was sad, and I got the feeling of what she was feeling. It would have been dangerous to go back and get him.
When I first started school in 6th grade, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t want to be there. I just wanted to go home. I kept going back to learn, and I liked it after a few weeks. It’s important in my family that I get an education. The better you get an education, the better life you will have. This is America. This is how people live here…and I want to help my family. I want to help the family I have back home. My goal is to bring Angsom here. He’s my brother and he’s part of me.
That is Keflome’s wilderness.
Where is the comfort God has promised?
Keflome knows the comfort of all of you who welcomed his family.
The comfort of Susie Koriath and Jack Wineman
helping with school events,
health care, employment, transportation
and navigating the daily ins and outs of life.
Comfort of Jim Mann setting up computers and televisions.
Comfort of Jerry Gray and Bob Bowers
providing trucks and muscles for moving furniture.
The comfort of Mike Boris fixing a leaking roof on their house.
Comfort of Lilly Endowment and this congregation
for allowing me and Jack the opportunity to visit Angsom on my sabbatical ,
deliver gifts, and offer comfort to him.
Comfort of Linda Theobald tutoring Abrehet in English
and preparing the papers for the legal process
of bringing Angsom here to rejoin his family.
The comfort of deacons and circles and mission team
Pat Ward and Susan Holewinski, Ruth and Emma Moore
providing assistance whenever needed.
Comfort of Hadley Moore, Aimee Schuermann
helping with college application process.
Comfort of the Yohns and the Hills and the Fishers
and all those who have included this family
in their meals, their holidays, their weekends, their vacations, their lives.
Comfort of Josh Hill making college visits, praying, planning, prodding and supporting every step of the way.
Comfort. Comfort my people, says the Lord God.
We are all in need of God’s miracle of comfort.
God’s very name is Comforter.
God’s inner desire is to comfort and strengthen his children.
So are we to be comforted and we are to comfort one another.
Comfort, comfort, my people, says the Lord God.
Amen.