Matthew 11:2-11
Reality does not always meet our
expectations. We all know that, of course, but it can still be difficult when
what we expect is not what we get. My wife, Lori Ann, for example, expected
that after being fully vaccinated and boosted and having had COVID just three
months ago that she would not be hit by it again any time soon. But despite all
that, lo and behold, she has COVID again. I do not: I am testing negative and
feeling fine, but I’m wearing a mask today and abstaining from up-close and
personal greetings out of an abundance of caution. And I’m thinking a lot about
that tension between expectation and reality.
It’s the central tension in our Gospel
today. Referring to John the Baptist, Jesus asks the crowds: What did you
expect when you went out into the wilderness to see John? Some weak and timid
person, dressed in fine robes? If that’s what they were looking for, they were
disappointed. Did they expect to see a prophet? If so, they got more than they
bargained for. They found not just a prophet but the forerunner of the Messiah,
a fiery and formidable presence who pronounced judgment on the rulers of his
day and confronted the powers-that-be so strongly that they had to lock him up
in prison.
But it’s not the expectation of the crowd
that moves me today: it’s the expectation that John himself has of Jesus.
Today’s reading comes from Matthew, and in Matthew’s account, John knows about
Jesus even before he baptizes him. Somehow John knows that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Christ, and acknowledges that before submerging him into the
waters of the Jordan River: In fact, at first he refuses to baptize Jesus,
saying I need to be baptized by you, and
do you come to me? (Matt. 3:14) And after baptizing him because Jesus
insisted, John is there when the heavens are opened and the Spirit of God
descends upon Jesus like a dove and a voice from heaven declares, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased (Matt. 3:17).
So John gets who Jesus is and is fully on
board, right? Well, maybe not. In this reading, he is in prison and will soon
be executed. He’s devoted his life to serving God and preparing the way for
God’s Messiah. He believed Jesus is the One when he baptized him. But John,
too, struggles with the tension between expectation and reality. He expected
Jesus to be the kind of Messiah John spoke about in our Gospel reading last
week, a fierce figure with a winnowing fork in his hand, separating the wheat
from the chaff and burning the chaff with unquenchable fire. John may have
expected someone more like himself, someone who would condemn the corrupt
powers of this world and usher in a new age with force and with fire. And if
so, he was not alone. Certainly many Jews were hoping for a mighty Messiah who
would, at the very least, drive out the Romans and restore the kingdom of
Israel and reign on the throne of David. Expectations were high.
But Jesus did not meet those
expectations. Go and tell John what you
hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news
brought to them. Instead of a hero, he’s a healer. Instead of a soldier,
he’s a savior. So different is Jesus from what people expected that even John
the Baptist questions him: Are you really
the one? Or should we wait for someone else?
Many people felt disappointed in Jesus
back then, and Jesus knew it, which is why he says today, Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. But I’m not concerned
about people back then: I’m concerned about us right now. What do we expect of
Jesus? And how will we react if Jesus does not meet our expectations? Do we,
for example, expect that if we believe that Jesus is God’s Son and go to church
that God will bless us with wealth and success? Certainly there are plenty of
people preaching the so-called “prosperity Gospel” who believe that. And, I
suspect, there are plenty of people who did believe that and now feel
disappointed and disillusioned. Do we expect that if we believe in Christ that
our lives will be easy and free from illness, struggle, or heartache? Well, if
you believe that, let me know how it’s working for you. I imagine it’s not.
On this third Sunday in Advent, the
season of expectation, Jesus reminds us of what we can expect if we trust in
him. Based on what he says today, and what he proclaims throughout the Gospels,
I think that we can expect this: if we put our faith in Christ, then through
Christ God will touch the hurting and broken parts of our lives and our world
with love and mercy, a love and mercy that will make us whole, even beyond
death and forever.
Having the right expectation is critical,
because we will look for Christ where we expect to find him. Jesus, for
example, forgives sins and sets us free from the power of guilt. If we expect
that, then we will confess our sins and look for that forgiveness and all the
renewed life and hope that comes with it. I don’t know about you, but I count
on that forgiveness. So, too, Christ gives us strength in our weakness. If we
expect that, then we will honestly acknowledge our weaknesses and limitations
and look for him to help us. I for one could not get through my days if that
were not the case. Throughout the Gospels, those who are humble in heart and
poor in spirit are the ones who trust in Jesus and find God. If we expect that to be true, then we will practice
being humble in heart and poor in spirit. In other words, we will practice
being open to God because we know how much we need God. I often fail to do
that, but when I get back on track and renew that practice, Christ is always
there. And I have found this to be true as well: the more we experience God’s
love and mercy, the more we expect that God will not only pour out that love
and mercy on us but use us to pour out that love and mercy on others, a
wondrous and joyful gift. If we expect these things, if in short, we expect
Jesus to be our Savior, then we may be challenged at times, we may frequently
be surprised, but we won’t be disappointed. We know who we’re looking for, and
we know what he’s about.