Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, February 12, 2017

"What Do You Expect?" - Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

What Do You Expect?
Epiphany 6 – Narrative Lectionary 3
February 12, 2017
Grace, Mankato, MN
Luke 7.18-35

A few years ago, I think it was at Bishop Steve Delzer’s installation, then Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson preached the sermon as well as performing the installation. Bishop Hanson talked about the expectations that come with the territory of being a bishop and pastor and what happens when expectations aren’t communicate. What he said translates into many areas, but especially leadership: “Unspoken expectations are resentments in waiting.” How often do we expect something to happen but don’t communicate that expectation others? We often set ourselves up for the inevitable resentment: “I shouldn’t have to say anything” or “You should have known.”

Expectations are at the heart of today’s reading from Luke 7. John the Baptist’s question, “Are you the one to come or should we look for another?” is an odd one, given the fact that he knows Jesus better than anyone. But it is also a question that is laced with disappointment and no small amount of resentment. As the Jesus story has unfolded we’ve said that Luke is answering the question “Who is this Jesus and what is he about?” Along the way, we’ve discovered that Jesus is long-awaited One, the Beloved Son, the fulfillment of scripture who rightly understands Sabbath and who can speak authoritative words of healing and new life.

Yet Luke, through John the Baptist, calls a time out to ask, “But is this what we expected?” If we hark back to John’s declaration in chapter 3 we can understand is question a bit more. Just before he baptizes Jesus, he predicts that Jesus is going to clean house by “separating the wheat from the chaff.” Yet, as John looks at his world from the viewpoint of prison, this doesn’t look like the kingdom of heaven at all. The man who imprisoned him, King Herod, is still the puppet of the Romans Judea still looks like kingdom of Rome. The status quo hasn’t changed; the privileged are still in power and continue to use that power to abuse the inhabitants. To use a modern metaphor, the swamp looks the same as it did before and hasn’t been drained at all.

Sound familiar? Honestly, sometimes I’m right there with John the Baptist asking, “Is there another one out there?” I am deeply concerned about our society and our country in so many ways as I know many of you are. I recently saw a New Yorker cartoon posted on Facebook that expresses part of my unrest. Two people are walking down the street and one says to the other, “My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.” Or, as one my colleagues recently said, “I’m finding myself slipping into quietism.” It’s hard not to pull the covers over my head and not come out again.

Now, I don’t really believe that God has checked out of the world and I shouldn’t either, but what are we to do? I think the first thing to do is to manage our expectations about who Jesus is and what he does. We have trouble seeing what God is up to in our world because our expectations limit our imagination. As the French philosopher and writer Voltaire said, “God created humans in the divine image and we have more than returned the favor.” We tend to make God into what we want rather than letting God be God.

The second thing to do is remember that God is working in our world, often in unexpected ways, and even more often through us. God works in, with and through us. The hungry are being fed through ECHO food shelf, Food for Friends at Salvation Army, Campus Cupboard and Lunch for a Buck at Crossroads, and our Wednesday evening meal. The blind receive their sight through Global Eye Mission and the poor receive the gospel in their own language through Wycliffe Bible Translators.

People of faith are standing with Jesus when he stands with the least advantaged in our world. We look for Jesus when we find ways to build bridges between different groups and cultures, not walls. So what should we expect of Jesus? We should expect nothing while also expecting everything. You see, we are blessed to have the God we need rather than the one we want, one who works surprisingly and shattering our expectations. We have a God who goes all in with his very life so that we and others through us have life as well. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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