Rev. Melinda Giese, Minister of Discipleship and Pastoral Care
I clearly remember the first winter I lived in Seattle. Week after week, I naively turned to the weather page of the Seattle Times, hoping for sunshine. I hadn’t been prepared for so many weeks (and months) of dreary drizzle. Driving to and from work in the dark and the rain, I questioned why anyone would want to live here! Even veterans of Seattle winters complained that year, as 1998/1999 ended up setting a record for winter rainfall of 22.77 inches (later far surpassed by the memorably rainy winter of 2016/2017).
In order to make it through our Northwest winters, most people learn coping strategies to endure the gray and rainy months. Some people swear by special lamps, others take extra vitamin D. Judging by the number of Starbucks and espresso stands in our area, many people find that coffee helps!
In Scandinavian countries, they manage their long, dark winters with the assistance of a cultural concept known as hygge, pronounced hue-guh. Hygge is a Danish/Norwegian word meaning “a quality of coziness that makes a person feel content or comfortable.” Hygge could be a cup of tea by the fire, a meal shared with friends, candles shining brightly in a window, or reading a book while curled up in a soft blanket. Hygge brings to mind warmth, coziness, and comfort, staying in, and hunkering down. This concept of hygge would be useful during a typical Northwest winter, but may be even more important this year as we continue to make our way through a pandemic winter.
As we hunker down during the coming winter months to avoid spreading COVID-19, we all could use moments of hygge. What most helps you to feel a sense of comfort? Is it a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows? Snuggling with a pet under a big blanket? Watching a favorite movie with a bowl of popcorn? All three at once? What comforting activity could you try this winter?
In Isaiah 61:1-2, Isaiah speaks of the Spirit of the Lord that has sent him to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, and to comfort all who mourn. Even as we look for moments of comfort to help get us through this difficult winter, these words in Isaiah bring deeper tidings of comfort and joy.
For every Advent, we are reminded that God is not done with the world as it is. Through Isaiah, we know God’s desire for healing and restoration, release and liberation, and for a way of being that brings peace and wholeness not just for some, but for all. Until God’s vision is accomplished, God will continue to work within us and our world, through ordinary people and everyday prophets. Until God’s vision is accomplished, the Spirit of the Lord continues to move us and others toward this future. May we feel the comfort of knowing that God’s vision is still on the way, even now.