Look to Be Surprised

Our experience of life is largely shaped by our expectations of life.

If our expectation is for things to go poorly, to fall short, to disappoint us, then there is a good possibility that is what we will experience.

If our expectation is for things to go well, to excel, to be at least satisfactory, then there is a good possibility that is what we will experience.

Either way, our perspective tends to paint our reality in appropriate colors. I have been amazed in just this last week, driving around, that the prettiest Christmas lights I am seeing are fall’s very late colors in the middle of a sun-splashed day – bright reds, oranges, and yellows against a lot of still-green trees. I have been surprised.

There are a lot of reasons this year to bring an expectation of dour disappointment to the table. But that is not God’s expectation. The biblical story reminds us again that in the midst of poverty, powerlessness, governmental overreach (Caesar Augustus demands a census of the entire world), a young pregnant woman believes in something better, persists with something better, expects something better, and she is not disappointed. Angels appear to shepherds – the lowest on the food chain – and announce that the good news proclaimed is for THEM. Surprise is the order of the day – something that would come to be Mary’s expectation as she watched her son grow.

As we approach Christmas this year, in spite of the year, what is the expectation you are bringing to the manger? By God’s grace, through faith, as you look at the stars, look to be surprised.

See you in the surprising place this Sunday for our Cantata, Agnus Dei (the Lamb of God).

Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor