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| Image courtesy of HermanoLeon.com |
Christmas day is fast
approaching and with it comes the expectation of joy, peace, hope and love. We
see the streets lined with lights, we put up our own decorations in our houses
and yet for some of us the expectations are not met. The lights don’t seem to shine as bright this
year, the gifts we give and get become less exciting, visiting relatives and
loved ones for some reason has become more like a chore rather than a joyous
occasion. The loss of a loved one, or financial burdens have made this Christmas
less of a White Christmas and more of a blue Christmas. Unfortunately for many
of us the joy and excitement of Christmas time just doesn’t live up to
expectations. Why is that?
In our Scripture for this morning we see that
expectations are not being met for many of those who were seeking the coming
Messiah. As we know prior to the coming of Jesus, John the Baptist was out in
the wilderness preaching and baptizing; preparing the way for the coming
Messiah. For many his message was very persuasive, very exciting; that this
Messiah that they had heard about, is now according to John the Baptist, coming
soon. John message was becoming so
popular, so effective, that many of those who were in power were beginning to
fear this message of a Messiah who would restore justice and topple the empire
and so John the Baptist was imprisoned.
In Matthew chapter 11 we find Jesus visiting John the
Baptist in prison, the interaction between Jesus and John the Baptist is very
interesting, but unfortunately we do not have the time this morning to explore
it deeply; but the general overview is that John asks if Jesus is the Messiah
and Jesus responds by showing all of the ways in which he has fulfilled the
prophetic expectations of the Messiah. It is what happens after this encounter
that I would like to take some time to look at this morning. After visiting
John, Jesus steps out of the prison and
is followed by crowds and asked questions; quite typical for Jesus’ ministry.
This time however, Jesus is apparently asked about John the Baptist. These
people who had once heard John’s message in the wilderness and found it
compelling were now complaining about John.
It probably came as a shock to them that one of these leaders who they
had listen to proclaim the good news of the coming Messiah was now in prison;
how could that be, maybe he isn’t someone worth listening to. And did you see the way he looked and acted
in the wilderness? His hair was wild,
and he wore camel hair and belt. Don’t forget he was eating locusts and wild honey. This man speaks words of truth, but he
doesn’t look like a man who should have any power, he doesn’t wear fine linen
like the priests in the Temple, he smells, and acts very strange. Jesus, we
like what this man has to say, but I just can’t get behind him, he’s not what I
was expecting.
Jesus responds to these followers rather
harshly. He says, “What did you go out into the
wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone
dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a
prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my
messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” Jesus questions the followers on what their
expectations really are. He says to
them, look you went into the wilderness, away from the cities and the towns,
away from the temples and the priests, so what did you expect to find and what
were you looking for? If you were looking for a the safe, prestigious, well
dress priests of the Temple, then why did you even come out to the wilderness
in the first place, since you could find that in the city. But no, you were looking for a prophet, and
that’s what you found. In fact the one you found in the wilderness is more than
just any ordinary prophet, this one, John the Baptist, is the one that
Scripture has told us about, he is the messenger that you have been expecting
who will prepare the way for the Messiah. And yet you went out to the wilderness, found this exact messenger
you were looking for proclaiming the good news you needed to hear, and you are
telling me now, that it did not live up to expectations. What are you
expecting?
What are you expecting?
This is the very same we should asking ourselves during this season of Advent.
As Christmas fast approaches, what is it that we are expecting? Are we expecting a great meal with family, are we expecting
the house to be the cleanest maybe it has been all year with beautiful
decorations all around? Are we expecting
to find that perfect gift for our spouse, or friend, or our kids? Are we expecting our favorite Christmas songs
to be played on the radio and in the stores as we shop, and are we expecting
all of this anticipation and excitement to last after Christmas day?
If these are our expectations for Christmas, then what
happens when they fall short. What happens when our family can’t gather because
of poor weather, or what if it’s the first Christmas since a loved one has
passed away? What if we don’t get that
gift that we really wanted, or what if we can’t afford to buy the gift that
that special person in our lives truly wants?
What if our tree looks ragged, and the lights don’t shine as bright;
what if instead of playing What Child is this, the radio station keeps playing
that Mariah Carey song? What if the moment we open our presents and have our
meal, we are done with Christmas and life continues just like normal?
If these are our expectations for Christmas than there is
a good we will be let down. Just like
the early followers that we read about in our scripture who were distracted in
their expectations, sometimes our expectations can become distracted as well.
Sometimes in the busyness of putting up our trees, buying gifts and traveling
we get distracted from our true hope and our true expectations. That Jesus
Christ was born as a lowly infant and yet a mighty king. That in a world of
brokenness and strife, the Messiah has come, Emmanuel, God is with us. If we
approach this Christmas with the hope and expectation of the Son of God
dwelling on Earth with us bringing us hope of justice, forgiveness, salvation,
and restoration, then we indeed are approaching Christmas with great
expectations, but with expectations that will never let us down.
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