3rd Sunday of Advent

Matt 11:2-11

This is the 3rd Sunday in Advent, or to the rest of the world, only 10 shopping days left until Christmas, and inevitably, expectations are mounting as the seasonal frenzy really gets into full swing.  Parties, Concerts, family get togethers, great food, presents, there are so many great things coming up in the next 2 weeks.

But for all the joy and hype of the season, sometimes it can feel like there is an awful lot of stress and pressure that comes along with all these heightened expectations.  And with all the running around trying to meet all of these demands and expectations for the season, it can often leave us feeling a bit let down by the end of it.  Or like our expectations never quite come true. 

In the season of Advent, we prepare for the Lord’s second coming and for his coming at Christmas, yet it never quite comes out as we think.  It is so hard for to live up to our own heightened expectations of this season.  Yet these unmet expectations are as old as Christmas, or almost.  In our bible stories for today, laid alongside the joyous celebration of Isaiah, where we are told of how the dessert will bloom and all of nature will rejoice at the coming of the Lord, we hear from John the Baptist in our gospel lesson voicing our deepest doubts and fears.  “Are you truly the one who is to come or are we to keep waiting for another?”

And while it may seem harsh in retrospect, John’s dismay is well founded.  Old Testament claims of the promised peace and joy that would come with the Messiah like those we heard in Isaiah today were also paired with predictions of the judgment of evildoers and those who oppressed the people and with the establishment of a new, free and glorious Jerusalem.  Over the centuries, as Israel waited under ever deteriorating conditions, God’s judgment took center stage in expectations.  Could it be possible to live in this promised peace without the punishment of those who have wronged us?  If the great kingdom and relationship with God that we once had was lost by a conquering army, won’t we have to take it back by military force?    

Even John’s own preaching which we heard in last week’s lesson tended to focus on God’s impending judgement and the need for people to quickly and sincerely repent of their evil deeds in advance of the Messiah’s imminent arrival. 

But a lot has happened to John the Baptist between last week’s story of his preaching repentance and baptizing people in the wilderness and this week’s.  The crowds who followed him into the dessert have gone and now he has been arrested and is in prison awaiting execution for treason.  So here is John, herald of the promised Messiah, languishing in prison, awaiting execution and wondering if he has gotten it right or not, knowing full well that he likely doesn’t have time to wait for anyone else.   He is left wondering where is the one who sets the captives free? Where is my promised retribution?  His expectations have surely not been met.

Yet Jesus’s answer to John points to the danger of self-imposed expectations.  Jesus points not to what has not been done, but to the amazing things that are already happening.  He has given sight to the blind, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and good news is proclaimed to the poor.  All without a single soldier or weapon.  These acts are exactly what God always promised and are truly an awe inspiring and miraculous source of hope.

And that is the danger of expectations.  We can get so wrapped up in what we expect, what we think should happen, that we miss the great things that are already happening all around us.  Excessive expectations distract us from the truth of Christ’s message.

And Jesus offers a similar challenge to the crowds and to us.  He asks the people what did you go out to look at in the dessert?  Were you just following the hot new trend?  Were you looking for something novel or entertaining?  A wild man in the dessert to laugh at?  Were you looking for easy repentance?  A quick fix to life’s problems?  Instant forgiveness?  A path to easy riches or happiness?  A glimpse at the lifestyle of the elite?

Well John was none of those things.  And neither is the Messiah.  John was a prophet like the prophets of old, proclaiming the reign of God, which means challenge, change, struggle and transformed expectations.  John and the crowds become so wrapped up in their expectations that they are unable to appreciate what is right there in front of them.  Their expectations about who and what the Messiah should be blinded them to the miraculous and gracious truth of his presence.

And the hype of the Christmas season still does this to us so easily.  The whole Christmas culture seems designed to create false expectations in order to leave us feeling unsatisfied.  Ads promise that if you try hard enough, shop enough, or spend enough money, you too can find all the things that will make you and your loved ones truly happy this year.  And while this is a great marketing strategy to ensure that we spend more and more money on Christmas each year, it can be deeply spiritually damaging. Instant happiness doesn’t come from a box, or a flat screen TV, or that name brand toy every child needs this year. 

Meanwhile, TV, movies and traditions set us up to expect perfect family gatherings where everyone comes, no one fights, all old conflicts and hurts are forgotten or at the very least everything comes together and wraps up into a lovely happy ending in the final scene.  And when it doesn’t work out, when the trappings of the season don’t make it all perfect, we are left with disappointment at our unmet expectations.  And so we often miss out on the truly great moments of the season while we wait for the next big thing.

But Jesus tells us something different.  That these earthly expectations aren’t what matter.  That God’s plan for the world is never what we expect but is always better than we can imagine. 

And so the book of James gives us truly great advice for this season today.  To be patient and calm as we wait for the Lord.  To remember that like crops that take all year to ripen, the really good stuff in life takes time to happen.  Happiness can’t just be unwrapped on Christmas morning, it takes time and work and investment because it comes from relationships not things.  

Advent reminds us that the really good stuff is worth waiting for and working for, even if the waiting is hard.  Yet in these days of instant gratification, it is a good reminder that the best stuff is worth waiting for, even if it means waiting 2000 years.  Amen.

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