Thursday, December 14, 2023  

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Today’s Hymn

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our sins and fears release us;
let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Charles Wesley’s “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal

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Reflection

The weight of expectations can be crushing. You wait and wait for something and build it up in your mind, and it may or may not go as you planned.

This happened to me recently. My family had a trip that had been in the works for a year. At every family gathering in that time, we counted the months and talked about everything we were looking forward to. We tried to make sure we had everything planned so that our trip went exactly as we hoped.

But you know what they say about best-laid plans… Unexpected demand for an event required an alternate agenda; one family member experienced a bronchitis flare-up; and another developed back pain so severe they couldn’t walk. So we had to come to terms with the fact that this trip wouldn’t be exactly what we had envisioned and anticipated for so long.

I wonder if this is how people felt when long-expected Jesus arrived. The Messiah had been prophesied for hundreds of years. Everyone had an idea of what they thought that would look like. And God sent us a child born into poverty, whose birth was announced first to shepherds in the mountains. Jesus’ arrival upended all those years of human expectations and fulfilled them in a way no one imagined.

Among many things, Advent to me is a reminder that we cannot put expectations on God’s plan for this world. We can and should prepare as much as we can, but God’s plans will lead us to unexpected and amazing places, and we must be open to the unforeseen blessing this brings.

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Prayer
God, allow me to be open to your spirit in this world. Give me the courage to listen to your word to lead me to the unexpected. Amen.

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Written by Jared Light, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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