My Image of God

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated. (Isaiah 40:1)

Few scripture verses bring me the hope and confidence that these verses bring. I hear them every year during Advent time, sang them as the first reading for the office of Christmas Matins when I was a nun, and continue to draw from them. Yet, I still have to remind myself, this is the picture I should have of my God.

I grew up fearing God. I am not sure why, but I do know a picture of Jesus standing as tall as a skyscraper looking into its windows did nothing to help me see God as kind and loving.  (Whoever created that picture did not have a child in mind, and the child's inability to see metaphor....) Nor was I assured of God's love when a neighbor summed up my lack of a fear of the dark by saying, "You know God is with you everywhere, right?" Well, if it was the God who peeked through skyscraper windows, I was definitely afraid now.

I had to work hard reading scripture and spending time in reflection and meditation before I came to a better understanding of the goodness of God. It did not come to me naturally. I suspect I am not unusual in this. With commandants and laws and rules and sin, we begin to see God as the General Inspector. God would like us to see God as Comforter, as the One who speaks tenderly to us.

As I prepare for Christmas in my spiritual life, it is good for me to reflect on the words of Isaiah and remember that this is God's way of relating to me, to all of us. Advent is a good time to sit before God in silence and work on my image of God.