Third Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 12th, 2010click here for past entriesLoving God, we often face disappointment when things don’t turn out in the way in which we expected. During this season of expectation, teach us to expect and to receive the presence and power of your Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are in the midst of a season of expectation. Something is going to happen – something big. We must be expecting something, because look at all of the preparations that are happening! People have been decorating and shopping, baking and making gifts. We’ve been lighting another candle on the wreath each week as the time gets closer and closer. This week the tree will go up to show that the time is almost here. But what, exactly, are we expecting?
Some would say that we’re expecting a birth. Others would say that the birth already happened many years ago. Some would say that we’re expecting a birthday. Others would say that it’s got to be the strangest birthday celebration ever, where everybody else gets presents. Some would say that we’re expecting a celebration. Ah... this seems pretty close, but what exactly are we celebrating? And if it is indeed worth celebrating, then why do so many people end up depressed?
There can, indeed, be great disappointment when our expectations are not met. A card is nice, but it could be disappointing if you were expecting a gift. Family gatherings can be enjoyable, but can also bring sorrow and sadness if there is bitterness rather than love, or if loved ones are no longer present. If you are expecting to celebrate Christmas in a certain way, and then you can’t do it any more, for whatever reason, it is likely that this will bring sadness.
Notice, though, that most of the things that can bring disappointment or sadness have to do with traditions or family or friends. What if we were simply expecting to celebrate the birth of our Saviour and Lord? What if we were expecting to hear and see through the gospel how God was willing to send his only Son for our salvation? What if we were expecting to have our hearts renewed in the gifts of peace, joy and love, given by God’s Spirit?
You see, the thing with expectations is that they can be realistic or unrealistic. They can be high or low or right on the mark. The question that would seem to come before us today is, “What are realistic expectations, given what we hear and see in the Scriptures?” In fact, this question comes up because of the experience of John the Baptist in today’s gospel.
Some people might find it surprising that John – the same one who confidently proclaimed the coming Messiah to the crowds in the wilderness – is now sitting in prison and has some serious doubts. Jesus is not the Messiah that John was expecting. Last week, we heard John’s preaching.
I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire (Mt. 3:11-12).
John has heard about what Jesus has been doing. Mostly, Jesus has been healing people. Jesus has also been teaching them, but we are not told whether John heard any of Jesus’ teaching or not. Nowhere has there been any evidence of baptizing people with the Holy Spirit or with fire (other than the Spirit descending on Jesus at his own baptism). Nowhere has there been any evidence of winnowing out those who are evil and throwing them into an unquenchable fire. Instead, Jesus has been going around healing people and preaching good news to the poor (Mt. 11:5).
From John’s perspective, Jesus was not fulfilling his own predictions, and so seemed to be a disappointment. For other people, too, Jesus did not conform to their expectation of a Messiah who would bring political, social and economic deliverance for Israel. However, as at least one author (Gundy) points out, Jesus was exceeding expectations in other ways. The Jewish people did not expect a Messiah who would perform miracles that only God could be expected to do. Surely these deeds would more than make up for any other disappointments!
And so Jesus asks the disciples of John to take everything into account – all that they were hearing and seeing. It is true that one could look into the Scriptures and come up with a very different kind of Messiah from the promises that are found there. However, all of what Jesus was teaching and doing was to be found in the Scriptures as well. Would people be willing to adjust their expectations and view the Scriptures in a new light based on what they were hearing and seeing in Jesus? The blind seeing, the lame walking, the mute speaking, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, lepers being cleansed, and good news being brought to the poor – all of these things are signs of hope predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. Would people be willing to see all this happening right before their eyes?
Yet, John was still disappointed, perhaps for other reasons, too. If Jesus really was as powerful as people were saying, why wouldn’t he rescue John from prison? If John was, as Jesus said, the greatest “among those born of women” (Mt. 11:11), then why would he be left in prison to await execution? John certainly wouldn’t have been the only one to have such thoughts. I regularly speak to people who believe that Jesus should come and rescue them from their problems. Why doesn’t God heal them? Why couldn’t their life be smooth? Why wouldn’t God take their difficulties away? There is an expectation that God “should” do these things.
How easy it is to forget that God doesn’t owe us anything. There is nothing that any of us have done that is such a great favour to God that he owes us one. When somebody is miraculously healed or rescued, it is an act of pure grace. Yet, we often have different ideas about how things “should” be. If I try to live a good life, God should reward me. If I pray for what I need right now, then God should jump in and provide it. How easy it is to forget that Jesus lived a perfect life, and was rewarded with pain and suffering and a cruel death. John the Baptist fulfilled his role as the messenger who would prepare the way for Jesus, and was rewarded by being thrown in prison and later being beheaded. None of us get what we deserve. Instead, we receive forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What, then, can we realistically expect, as followers of Jesus? The Scriptures make it clear that Christians can expect persecution and arrest and slander against them and imprisonment and hatred and even death (Mt. 5:11-12; 10:16-23). At the same time, we are given the example of early Christians such as Peter or Paul who, in spite of persecution, beatings, imprisonment, and illness, had an inner joy and peace that flowed out of their hearts from the Spirit of God.
As Christians, we can expect abundant life, which will be like living water flowing out of the hearts of believers. This is how the Gospel of John describes the presence of the Holy Spirit, who fills the hearts of those who are open to it with the presence of God. Christians are never promised the absence of difficulties in life, but can expect the inner strength and peace that come from the Holy Spirit, even in the midst of chaos and trouble.
As Christians, we can expect that Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. We can also expect that all who welcome Jesus into their lives and live as his followers will receive eternal life and the promise of resurrection. These are some of the things that we can realistically expect, based on what we hear and see in the Scriptures.
Now, what about our expectations for this coming celebration? Here are a few suggestions: Expect to be reminded of the gift of God’s Son, come to affirm that human beings are indeed worth saving. Expect to see the Holy and Almighty God showing up amidst the ordinariness of life. Expect to be surprised by the angels’ message, full of “good news of great joy.” Expect to see the light of Christ still shining in the midst of this sinful, mixed up world. Expect to meet Jesus - in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, in the words of the Scriptures, in the light shining in the darkness, and in the lives of those who serve others in Jesus’ name. When we expect these things, coming in faith and with open hearts, we won’t be disappointed. Amen.
Advent 3(A) Matthew 11:2-11
December 12, 2010
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2010 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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