Call It a Wash?

Isaiah 40:1,2

Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

One year ago today, the unthinkable happened. Together, we began a 53 day hiatus from in-person worship. Normal worship life was interrupted. Normal life ground to a halt. Communities have been disrupted. First, we hoped to be back in two weeks. That didn’t happen. Then, by Easter, which was April 12 last year. That didn’t happen either. Then, by Mother’s Day. And we were finally back to worship. We’ve only canceled worship twice since then. Once for COVID; once for the winter storm.

 We didn’t come back because COVID went away. In May, it seemed like things were getting better. Then, summer came. Cases spiked even more than when we shut down. To stay open, we decided to change our worship. We sang less. We’d already been limiting our capacity. People were already staying away enough that only once did we come close to our self-imposed limits. We changed how we do Sunday School. We canceled most programs. We canceled our midweek meals during Advent and Lent. No children’s service, either. Mornings with Mommy and Power Hour are just now getting off the ground. A year has passed now! Can we call the last year a wash?

 How much has your life changed in a year? Has this been the most life-changing year of your life? Are you still working from home? Are you still self-isolating? Have you gotten into the pandemic routine and don’t know if you want to go back to the way things were? How many trips or parties or events have you put off with an indefinite time for return? Do you just want to call the last year a wash?

 God's people the Israelites lost seventy years. Because of their unbelief and their sin, God sent them into exile in Babylon. Seventy years away from God's temple! Unable to see and hear the sights and sounds of God's house. Disconnected from God in many ways. Were those seventy years a wash? No! God was preparing for himself a people from whom the Savior of the world would come.

 Long before the people went into exile, God already promised to bring them home. He told the prophet Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort my people.” He told Isaiah, “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Throughout their seventy years of exile, they could hold onto this: their sin was paid for; the LORD would give them double comfort to cover all their sins.

 This past year has not been a wash. Indeed, we have not been able to do new things at church as much. We haven’t even been able to do everything we usually do. But this past year he has driven us to hold more tightly to what is most important. He has driven us back to his Word again and again to find the comfort in the face of death he promises through Isaiah and all his inspired authors. He has called to us with the promise of life through his Son Jesus Christ. He has guarded our lives on earth. He still calls us home to heaven.

 Soon, it appears, our exile will be over. As of yesterday, Collin County is reporting under 1,000 active cases of COVID-19 for the first time since October 28. Over an eighth of people in Collin County have been vaccinated. We give thanks to God for preserving us. We ask him to restore us now. We pray he continue to bless and keep us.