July 30, 2000

July 30,2000

God sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake, He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so WAKE UP for goodness sake! In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

What is the most comfortable thing you can think of? Lying on the beach on a warm summer day, jumping into a mother’s waiting arms, -chocolate-, a teddy bear you’ve had since you were little, sitting on a sofa close to your favorite pet by the fireplace on a cold winter night while watching the stars twinkling out the window as they reflect off the white snow, shedding an eerie glow over the whole –

(Oh) Anyway, comfort is, most often, a good thing. Far be it for me to tell someone’s personal opinion, but in most cases, people seem to prefer being comfortable to the alternative of being uncomfortable.

Comfort, it is such a curious thing, isn’t it? According to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Unabridged Dictionary, comfort comes from the Middle English word conforte. As a noun, its definition is “relief from pain, grief, distress, etc.”

Comfort can come from all sorts of different places, and the appropriateness of the place from which comfort is derived can depend on circumstances.

In today’s Old Testament reading, when Elijah was to be taken to heaven in a whirlwind, it’s obvious that Elisha was having problems coping with Elijah’s imminent departure, in fact, he refused to speak of it. He was in complete denial. (Oh, so denial is not just a river in Egypt). In the end, because Elijah was gone, and Elisha hadn’t come to terms with this departure, he was so distraught that he tore off his clothing. This brings to mind a recent “Dear Abby” letter and the many reader responses from people who could empathize with the writer.

The writer was a woman whose mother had recently died. Throughout the mother’s illness, she would ask her daughter if she was dying. Though it was obvious that she indeed was dying, the woman always told her mother she was not, and refused to discuss that topic. Once the mother did die, the daughter felt horrible not only because she lost her mother, but also because she did not give her mother the time to get her affairs in order, and she never took the chance to bid her mother goodbye.

Steadfastly denying her mother’s imminent departure gave her temporary comfort, just as Elisha was comforted by hovering over Elijah and not speaking of his departure. Both the woman and Elisha seemed desperate for comfort, no matter how temporary, no matter the consequences.

Don’t get me wrong, comfort is good! Jesus comforted his disciples during the storm. When the current was against them, Jesus gently walked on the water, comforting them when they were terrified. He made the winds die down, sort of like, when I was younger, whenever I was scared I could crawl into mommy’s lap, and suddenly, the winds would die down. That’s another type of comfort, parental, grandparental, aunt, uncle, etc., and it isn’t unlike God’s.

Once I crawled into my mother’s lap, I would forget my problems and soon go back to playing. And, I guess that’s what comfort is about. It’s to relieve you of your problems so you can live your life again. Once the disciples were comforted, they could continue rowing to get to Bethsaida.

Elisha wanted comfort, but he was looking in the wrong place. He was hiding from his problems and from his fear. He found a temporary refuge in staying with Elijah all the time, but in the end, he felt left alone, God was left in the dust.

Everyone has needed comforting in some way, at some time. Whether it’s taking medication so you can return to work or school, getting chicken soup from a neighbor or friend when you are sick, or just having a shoulder to cry on, comfort helps all people in the same way. It helps us to feel better and enables us to keep on living. Running away from problems only makes them worse, and makes us feel alone..

As I said in the beginning, God knows when you are sleeping, She knows when you’re awake, and She knows if you’ve been bad, or good, or happy, or miserable, always. God is always there, ready to give her comfort to those who need it.


“Take heart; it is I, have no fear.”

Amen.