August 1, 2025

Isaiah 54, 10

Inseparable love

The mountains might shake. The hills might be removed. But my faithful love for you will never be shaken. And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be removed,’ says the LORD. He shows you his loving concern.

Dear Reader,

on August 1, the Swiss celebrate their national holiday or the so-called Federal Day. They celebrate the birth of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Today's stamp shows a landscape that many people associate with Switzerland: beautiful lakes and forests nestled between majestic mountains.

But on May 28, 2025, nature also showed its different face. It was no postage stamp idyll. A natural disaster occurred in the small Swiss village of Blatten. Part of a mountain peak collapsed into the valley. Ten million cubic meters of rubble and ice buried the small village of Blatten. Although the inhabitants were evacuated in time, people lost all their belongings. The falling mountain did not stop at the church and the cemetery. They were also buried under the masses of rubble.

God, the almighty Creator of heaven and earth, uses the image of falling mountains and hills in a word of comfort. He speaks this promise of grace to his people of the old covenant (Isaiah 54:10): The mountains might shake. The hills might be removed. But my faithful love for you will never be shaken. And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be removed,’ says the LORD. He shows you his loving concern.

God also speaks this word of comfort to us Christians. I may also make personal use of this word of comfort. Especially in life situations, when my faith in the Father in heaven is buried by suffering and grief due to misfortune and catastrophes. When my faith in a merciful and preserving God is torn away by death, suffering and grief. When my grandson died of cancer a few years ago at the age of just 17, my faith was in danger of drowning in a sea of grief and despair. All the prayers had been to no avail. God no longer seemed to be listening.

And yet I was able to experience that my trust in the loving Father in heaven did not perish. Looking at the dying Jesus on the cross of Golgotha provided comfort to me. On the cross, Jesus cried out ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Gospel of Mark 15, 34; Psalm 22). The Son of God had to suffer and to go through this despair. Jesus knows what despair feels like. He knows our boundless pain, the great fear when we have to go through the dark valleys of Psalm 23.

What I have experienced, however, is, that it is not me who is strong in faith. It is God's great love for me that holds me when my hands have become weak. My wish for you in times of crisis in your faith is that you may experience these strong hands of God. I hope that you can experience God's faithfulness. He keeps the covenant he has made with you. Nothing can shake his love for you (Romans 8, 38+39). The good shepherd Jesus will lead you through even the darkest valley (Psalm 23). God's mercy shines brightly at the end of the dark tunnel.

Thank you for visiting me and listening to me. May God protect you in spirit, soul and body. May He keep your trust in Jesus Christ, our Lord. I look forward to seeing you again at the next short sermon on August 15, 2025.