Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Isaiah 40:1
“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God,” paired with our Advent theme, “You are the light of the world,” can be too heavy of a command for me. It is simply too much for one person to do.
In 2011 after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, a list of hundreds of names of people in need was delivered to my inbox. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, I even received an email from a whitehouse.gov email address requesting support for a family in a dire situation in our area. I was overwhelmed and felt like I didn’t have the right or enough resources to help. I didn’t want to find myself as a point of failure knowing so many people need comfort and light.
After years of this work, I am finally learning to remember that I am not able to provide all that’s needed, alone. When I share the needs with others--with individuals, congregations and community partners—together, we bring comfort and light. God’s command is not issued to any one person. Rather, God calls to all of us, together, to bring comfort and light into the world.
Recently, when I received a call from someone needing help beyond what one person could do, I did not worry. I took a deep breath, made some phone calls, and remembered that God is with me in many ways as we do this work of disaster response, together. Now, a team of volunteers is assembling some much-needed home repairs on a house damaged by last year’s harsh winter. Together, we are bringing comfort and hope.
Dear Lord, help us to remember that we are not alone in our service and that, together, we share the comfort that is in you. Amen.
Julia Menzo is the Coordinator of Lutheran Disaster Response – Eastern PA and Coordinator of Volunteers at Liberty Lutheran Services.
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