I’m going to guess that at some point, all of us have been frustrated when things don’t go how we think they should. We set our expectations, and reality sometimes… well. It can let us down. We only need consider people’s experiences online shopping to understand… I once heard of a man was so excited to find a hand-made 9x12 Persian carpet for only a few hundred dollars, that he missed reading the fine print... the measurement was inches, not feet: it was a rug for a doll house.
Sometimes – often? We get so caught up in our own way of thinking, that we aren’t just oblivious to the reality in front of us, but we actually are resistant to it. We reject it. We tell ourselves whatever narrative we believe will bring us to OUR expectation – and are genuinely shocked when the outcome doesn’t line up.
And that’s not helpful when we’re thinking about the expectations we have for our faith journeys. This is not somewhere where we want to be disappointed, nor somewhere where we want to be so boxed into our own way of thinking that we can overlook the blessings that God is showering upon us.
We come to God with our earthly hopes and expectations, and God gives us what God knows we need. Today’s scriptures share several examples of where God's people have an expectation, and God intervenes in amazing ways.
The Genesis reading today – let’s unpack this soap opera!
Isaac needs a wife, sends a servant to the well where the single girls hang out and find the “best one”. Awkward.
Meanwhile Rebekeh’s brother conspires with the servant, and sends her to the well, where she offers to water him AND his camels. That’s a LOT of water, as each of these 10 camels will drink some 20-30 gallons at a time. The servant thinks she’s gorgeous, slaps some snazzy jewelry on her, and she agrees to leave her family and homeland to marry some dude she's never met. Then, with appropriate drama, she sees Isaac, and is so smitten by this biblical dreamboat that she falls off her camel.
Awkward.
All drama aside: for heirs, Isaac needs a wife; but his grief makes his expectation LOW - any womb - I mean woman - will do.
The reality, however, is so much more: as he finds love and comfort and care, from a woman who is faithful and generous and compassionate.
The reality far exceeds the expectation.
Let’s shift to Paul… living in Roman society, which emphasized individualism: the understanding where everyone was responsible for their own bodies and actions to answer to the law - a good set of reasonable and time-tested expectations.
And in his letter, Paul is having some serious issues with his self-identity as a beloved child of God. Because he realises that the spiritual reality is bigger; that sin is not just about following the rules because the law says so… but because sin is a disconnection from God and everything (and everyone) that God loves. Thus, sin is to be avoided, as that disconnect can cause eternal damage to the soul.
How beautiful for Paul to also recognise that God is bigger than the human law. God's mercy and grace is bigger than sin. So with our minds, our true selves, we come to God and are welcomed and received with the promise of salvation and redemption.
Again, THAT reality far exceeds the expectation.
Today’s Gospel passage takes us again to expectations and earthly limitations. Jesus is speaking with folks for whom nothing seems good enough - John the Baptist is called a demon because of his fasting; while Jesus is insulted because he didn't fast (and scandalously ate and drank with people who were not society’s elite.).
"Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
And so Jesus does what matters the most – he prays - aloud for us all to hear and heed. "Thanks dad," he says, "for giving heavenly knowledge to the simple folks, and keeping it from those who would connive to use it for personal gain."
That was definitely not the expectation of the people there – they were trying to shame him into their way of thinking and being! But instead, they are faced with the reality of God in their midst.
Jesus continues with that beautiful message: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
And here I invite us to delve deeper into what Jesus is saying - because if we have the expectation that this means that Jesus will automatically make our lives perfect, then we have missed the point. The reality is even more beautiful and profound than a magical ‘fix’.
We all have prayers being raised for miraculous change - for physical cures, for world peace, for restored relationship, ... etc. Yet what God gives us exceeds all of our hopes and expectations. Because God gives us more than what this world could imagine, as God’s promise is unconditional love and eternal life.
Jesus speaks of community and support; assuring us that we receive help for all that weighs our hearts. For the tortured soul, there can be no better assurance.
The sharing of the load and rest for our souls is a powerful promise. The yoke is a bridge between individuals, aligning their very footsteps. Through this synchronicity, the burden is lessened. Together, we can do it; alone, we struggle in pain.
Jesus invites us all to walk with him. With one another. To learn from him. To pray together. To be disciples that build connection and community, sharing the challenges of others so that all may thrive; trusting that others will share our burdens too, when they come.
And here, again, God shows us that the reality is so much more than we could have expected.
So let us go into the world, knowing that we are loved, supported, accompanied: by God and by each other. Let us find ways to love – abundantly and joyously.
And as we love, let us be blissfully surprised as we discover again and again how the reality of God's love for us far exceeds anything we ever expected.
Amen.
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