There is an end to the desert in our lives, where we travel through dangerous places. Where we are at the point of giving up so many times. Where we get lost again and again. Where we turn down the road so often, convinced that the short cuts we work out will get us there quicker, only to find out we have to turn back. The sadness that so often threatens our faith, sometimes to the point of extinction, will take a turn for the better. For there is an end to the desert in our lives.
Truly Isaiah’s words from the Lord, “console my people, console them” mean so much for our poor hearts with our little faith here in the desert. Because through that same desert that so drains the very life out of us, the Lord is coming straight to us. And soon, very soon, at the time of the Lord, a loud voice will shout, “here is your God.” And like a mother, he will gather us in his arms and hold us against his breast. Console, my people, console.
If God takes his time, says Peter, it is so that nobody may be lost in that desert. Nobody. In the meantime, against all odds, let us live lives without spot or stain, so that when he comes, we will be at peace.
O Isaiah, prophet of the Lord, who console us with such beautiful words! O Peter, who encourages us to be patient! O John the Baptist, voice crying in our wilderness! You who are now in everlasting peace with the Lord, pray for us that nothing here on earth may hinder us who are waiting to receive Jesus the Lord, so that all may see the salvation of the Lord and may be admitted to your company in heaven.
Amen!