Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 11:2-11
December 15, 2013
© 2013
In John
Grisham’s 2001 novel Skipping Christmas
(which became the 2004 movie Christmas
with the Kranks), Luther Krank convinces his wife Nora to skip their usual
Christmas and go on a cruise since their daughter, Blair, is in Peru with the
Peace Corps. Their neighbors are outraged that they are not going to participate
in the expected block decorating competition. Unexpectedly, Blair phones from
the Miami airport on Christmas Eve to announce that she is bringing her
Peruvian fiancé to meet them and experience their Christmas celebration. Comedy
arises from the scramble to meet altered expectations. The rediscovered joy is
capped by giving the cruise tickets to the Scheels, neighbors who have just
learned the wife has given a 90% terminal diagnosis.
Half-way
through Advent, Joyful Sunday asks us how our expectations of Christmas affect
our joy.
Regina
Expectations
are we would see as normally happening. Yet when those expectations aren’t met,
it can bring joy too. On Thursday, I wanted a breakfast burrito so I went to a
restaurant and went through the drive thru and there was a bit of a wait but I
got up to the window and the employee told me that the car before me had paid
for me. I expected to pay but it brought a bit of joy to learn of someone
paying it forward and pushed me to do the same for someone else.
Norm
Isaiah 35
concludes with the promise of “everlasting joy” (v. 10), which is repeated in Isaiah
51:11 and 61:7. The image is of pilgrims on “the Holy Way” to celebrate God’s
redemption.
We are
pilgrims looking for signs of God’s redemption on our path. The more distressed
we are by injustice and corruption, the more we expect God’s vengeance with
terrible recompense (v. 4) and miss the blind seeing, the deaf hearing,
the lame leaping, the speechless singing (vv. 5-6).
But Advent
prompts us to examine our expectations for Christmas so we can be surprised by
Jesus every day.
Matthew
11:2-11 compares John the Baptist’s messianic expectations and the people’s
expectations of John.
Norm: When John
heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him,
Regina: “Are you
the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Norm: 4Jesus answered them,
Regina: “Go and
tell John what you hear and see: 5the 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. 6And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Norm: 7As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
about John:
Regina: “What did
you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft
robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell
you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the
one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who
will prepare your way before you.’11Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has
arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet
the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Regina
John was
very radical, relentless and single-minded in his pursuit.
He lived on
what some would consider last resort measures. Yet people were drawn to him and
yet he always pointed to the one that came after him.
Jesus
questions the people about what are they really looking for and might us to
lead to what are we looking for.
Norm
Jesus’
description of John builds on people’s expectation that he was not like Herod.
John was not a fickle politician wavering with popular or powerful opinion. He
was not self-indulgent in dress, diet or dwelling. They expected a word from
God for a fresh start in life.
But held in
Herod’s prison, John wasn’t sure what Jesus was the Messiah he expected. Where
was the “vengeance with terrible recompense?” Jesus quoted the next line from
Isaiah 35 to refocus the expectations on the blind seeing, the deaf hearing,
the lame leaping, the speechless singing.
Advent
prompts us to examine our expectations for Christmas so we can be surprised by
Jesus every day.
Isaiah
35:3-4 describes us as we wait, for Christmas and God’s redemption. When our
expectations seem unfulfilled, we recognize our weak hands, fearful knees and
fearful hearts.
Regina
We are deep
into the journey of Advent now and there are many temptation and challenges
that distract us. Like there are only nine shopping days left. But we must remain
the path and remain expectantly focused. Isaiah speaks a word to the many of us
that are distracted and just seem lost: Hope is on the way!
Norm
Anathea
Portier-Young, Old Testament professor at Duke Divinity School, says “fearful
heart” is literally “racing heart.” She asks us to consider what sets our
hearts racing? Advent says to us, “God is here. Restorative justice in on its
way. Expect God’s response!”
When our
expectations are misplaced, our hearts race with impatience and anxiety. St.
Vincent do Paul said, “Whoever is in a hurry delays the work of God.”
In January
2007 The Washington Post reported the
reactions of commuters to a violinist playing at a D.C. Metro station. Thousands
of commuters walked by without noticing. Some stopped to listen briefly and a
few through a couple of bills in the open violin case. What they didn’t realize
was this was world renowned concert violinist Joshua Bell playing his multi-million
dollar Stradivarius. Without paying $100 a seat to hear him in Boston’s Symphony
Hall, people didn’t expect to see Joshua Bell.
Regina
What did we
all expect when we came to church this morning? What did we expect to see, feel
and hear?
Did we come
expecting to find Jesus?
Norm
What cues do
we need to break through our expectations for Christmas to recognize Jesus?
In the Christianity Today blog her-meneutics, (December 9, 2013) Liuan
Huska wrote about her expectations as she waited for the birth of her first
child. “I am increasingly aware of the darkness of this world into which I am
bringing my child. … My instinct is to do everything in my power to keep out of
danger. … Our God did what every mother
would shudder to do. He sent his child directly into the heart of evil with no
protection, save faith, hope, and extravagant love.” She quotes Old Testament
scholar Walter Brueggemann’s book The
Prophetic Imagination, “Only when we face the darkness and allow ourselves
to grieve that something new can emerge.” And Christian educator Parker
Palmer’s book A Hidden Wholeness,
about broken, fearful, racing heart of Isaiah 35:4. “A broken heart is not
necessarily a bad thing. … [It may be] something broken open, like a crack in a
seed about to sprout. … My heart can break open into a greater capacity to hold
more of my own and the world’s suffering and joy, despair and hope.”
Advent prompts us to examine our
expectations for Christmas so we can be surprised by Jesus every day.
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