Comfortable Words: a call to restoration

At the first anniversary of lockdown, Steven Croft examines what the ‘comfortable words’ in Isaiah have to say to us, and through nine reflections offers a message of Easter hope.

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‘Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God…’

Through nine reflections, Steven Croft examines what these ‘comfortable words’ have to say to us. Each reflection begins from a passage of scripture taken from Isaiah 40–55: the song of an unnamed prophet who sings at the end of the exile to call God’s people home.

The prophet sings of love and forgiveness, of new hope and strength in God, to rekindle courage in the hearts of God’s people. The prophet sings of a new kind of leadership, based on humility and gentleness. The prophet sings to tell us not to be afraid even in the face of death. These are comfortable words the whole world needs to hear afresh in this season.