Expectations
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 35:1-10
Joe and Sarah lived a comfortable life in suburban Oklahoma. Their children were successful and lived far away. A few days before Christmas, Joe called his son Bill in New York. ''Bill, I need to tell you this straight up. Your mother and I have been married forty years and we can't stand each other. We're getting divorced.'' There was silence on the phone. Bill finally replied. ''Dad, that's terrible news. You guys really do love each other. I'm going to call Mary right now. Don't do anything until I call you back.'' Bill called his sister Mary in Hong Kong. She was furious. ''How could they do that? I'm taking the next plane back there. I'll see you tomorrow'' and she hung up. Bill called his father back and said ''Dad, don't do anything until Mary and I get there, OK?'' After Joe hung up the phone, he smiled, turned to his wife and said, ''It's all taken care of. The kids are coming home for Christmas.'' [pause] Sometimes we show up expecting one thing and get another. And at other times, we show up for the wrong reasons.
We need to think about our expectations. [pause] The Palestine of Jesus' day had been occupied by the Romans for over two centuries. Before Jesus, there had been failed attempts at rebellion. The Messiah they were expecting would be a warrior-leader just like David. He would lead the Jews to overthrow the Romans. But things didn't turn out that way.
A few months after John's encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he had pointed out to Herod, the tetrarch or ruler of Palestine and who was also Jewish, that he had violated Jewish law by divorcing his wife and marrying his brother's wife. For telling the truth, John was thrown in prison. He would eventually be executed. Our gospel today has John brooding in a prison cell. He has devoted his life to serving as a pointer to the one who would follow him. He lived out his calling as a prophet knowing that, like the prophet Samuel who anointed ...
Bob Wickizer
Isaiah 35:1-10
Joe and Sarah lived a comfortable life in suburban Oklahoma. Their children were successful and lived far away. A few days before Christmas, Joe called his son Bill in New York. ''Bill, I need to tell you this straight up. Your mother and I have been married forty years and we can't stand each other. We're getting divorced.'' There was silence on the phone. Bill finally replied. ''Dad, that's terrible news. You guys really do love each other. I'm going to call Mary right now. Don't do anything until I call you back.'' Bill called his sister Mary in Hong Kong. She was furious. ''How could they do that? I'm taking the next plane back there. I'll see you tomorrow'' and she hung up. Bill called his father back and said ''Dad, don't do anything until Mary and I get there, OK?'' After Joe hung up the phone, he smiled, turned to his wife and said, ''It's all taken care of. The kids are coming home for Christmas.'' [pause] Sometimes we show up expecting one thing and get another. And at other times, we show up for the wrong reasons.
We need to think about our expectations. [pause] The Palestine of Jesus' day had been occupied by the Romans for over two centuries. Before Jesus, there had been failed attempts at rebellion. The Messiah they were expecting would be a warrior-leader just like David. He would lead the Jews to overthrow the Romans. But things didn't turn out that way.
A few months after John's encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he had pointed out to Herod, the tetrarch or ruler of Palestine and who was also Jewish, that he had violated Jewish law by divorcing his wife and marrying his brother's wife. For telling the truth, John was thrown in prison. He would eventually be executed. Our gospel today has John brooding in a prison cell. He has devoted his life to serving as a pointer to the one who would follow him. He lived out his calling as a prophet knowing that, like the prophet Samuel who anointed ...
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