Daily Prophets
Day 160
“Comfort, comfort My people, says God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and declare to her that her service is finished, her iniquity is atoned for, for she has been given from the hand of God, double for all her sins. God gives strength to the weary, great courage to the spent. Trust in God and strength is renewed.” (Isaiah 40:1-2,29,31).
Moving from Ezekiel to Second Isaiah, we see the movement from exile to return. The opening verse above is to revive the spirit of the people of Judah. The Rabbis decreed that this chapter be read each year on the Shabbat after Tisha B’Av, ushering in 7 weeks of consolation/comfort for our preparation for Yom Kippur. As I think about this, I understand how important it is to read this opening after every T’Shuvah we do for ourselves and another(s). After we do T’Shuvah, we have to confirm to ourselves that we allow ourselves to be comforted by our recognizing our errors, repairing them, asking for forgiveness, learning from them and having a new way of living well.
The problem is that many people carry guilt and shame for their errors way past the time necessary for change and T’Shuvah. Another problem is that people want to make another(s) pay for their errors for a long time after they have done their T’Shuvah. In both instances, the opening verses are crucial lessons and wisdom for us to incorporate into our being.
God is telling us that God wants us back, accepts us back and we have to let go of our own shame and guilt for our “service is finished…iniquity is atoned for”. Yes, Judah/Israel has suffered greatly and their idolatry was great, their selfishness, greed, injustice, senseless hatred, haughty/privileged lifestyle was hugely against the covenant with God so the lessons had to be learned and their return had to be earned. T’Shuvah is not just “I’m sorry”, it is a change and a time out, in some cases. In the case of Judah/Israel, the exile lasted 70 years and the destruction of Jerusalem was total because of their failure to hear the prophets and God calling them back from their idolatrous, covenant breaking paths. AND, the prophet (known as Second Isaiah) is letting us know that our debt is paid in full and we are going to be restored fully to our rightful place.
This is a fascinating concept to me. I am seeing the ways we hold onto our guilt and shame, the paths we take to stay stuck so we can become our own victims and/or make someone else feel guilty and shameful so they become our victim after being victimized by them. Many people are stuck in a very unhealthy cycle of shame/guilt, never allowing their T’Shuvah to relieve them, never allowing God to comfort them. Still others are using the guilt/shame of another to keep beating them up for the error they committed and telling them that they are the error and they can never be fully forgiven. This is in direct conflict with God’s way and God’s words above, yet many of these people are “God-Fearing, Religious, Progressive, Conservative, etc” who believe that they are the true people of faith! Charlatans and liars who only want power refuse to follow God’s command to comfort another after they have done their T’Shuvah.
The last verses above we say everyday in our Morning Blessings. We need to remember God gives strength to the weary and renews our strength each and everyday when we are connected, comforted and accepting of God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of another(s). Our doing T’Shuvah-seeing where we hit the mark as well as where we missed the mark-is a daily activity, or should be, and we get renewed strength from looking at our actions honestly and, with the help of God, take credit for the harm and the good we have done. Living without the shame/guilt of past errors we have already atoned for allows us to accept God’s comfort, God’s forgiveness and move forward-we are weary from carrying the guilt/shame of the past and God lifts it from us and we can stand strong and tall each day.
In recovery we have a daily practice of giving and receiving comfort and strength from God, from another(s), from ourselves through our daily inventories, amends, gratitudes, acceptance of gratitude from another(s) and being of service. We know the comfort that the prophet is speaking of in the opening verses because we have experienced it. We know the necessity of inventory, confession, repair of our errors, learning from them and the change we need to implement so we don’t keep repeating them. We are always in the process of engaging in these behaviors because we have accepted our imperfections and are comforted and forgiven by God and another(s) human being. In recovery, we let go of the past shame/guilt so we can see a brighter future and engage in life on God’s terms.
I have been comforted and I have been vilified. I have made the same error more than once and I have corrected many of them. What these verses remind me is that I don’t have to accept the guilt/shame others want to put on me. I am who I am and I strive to be one grain of sand better each day. I also reject the stories some people in power tell about me and I am comforted by God and another(s) for their forgiveness and love. I am sorry for my errors and I refuse to be in exile any longer for them. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark