Advent: Jesus the Curve Ball
As soon as we walked into grandma and grandpa’s house, we shook off our shoes and darted towards the Christmas tree. It was tall and fancy, and surrounded with gobs of presents! Our greedy little eyes darted around, looking frantically for our names on the packages while our parents, aunts and uncles mingled in the kitchen. And that’s when we saw it.
The biggest present under the tree… with my brother’s name on it. Jeremy let out a squeal while I dropped my head in disappointment. The time came to (finally) open presents. Jeremy waited, building anticipation, until finally there was only one more present left to open: his. He shredded the wrapping paper in a flurry, but froze holding the oversized gift.
A globe.
Not a game. Not a big, cool toy. A boring, educational, spinning globe.
Expectations are a tricky thing.
God’s people had a lot of expectations about the coming Messiah.
God promised a Messiah who would establish God’s kingdom forever and forever. To many Jews in Jesus’ day experiencing Roman occupation and religious persecution, they hoped for the Messiah to come with power and might - to restore God’s people in God’s land and wipe out the evil, oppressive pagans.
Then around 4 BC, Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, entered the scene in an unremarkable way, to an unremarkable family, that lives in an unremarkable town. God appointed Jesus’ cousin John to prepare people’s hearts for Jesus, but even John was confused. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you really the Messiah?” Where was Jesus’ sword? Where was his indignation? Where was his army?
Jesus told John’s disciples, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Instead of displaying power to overthrow, he displayed power to heal the broken. Instead of a mighty army, he chose a rag-tag group of twelve. Instead of admonishing the Roman pagans, he admonished the Jewish self-righteous. Instead of a forceful revolution, he came with a revolution of love.
Tangible, inclusive, radical, baffling love.
Jesus the Messiah was a curve ball.
He did not meet human expectations. And yet, he was the perfect demonstration of what it was always supposed to be about: fierce faithfulness to God demonstrated through a radical love of others. It’s all over the First Testament – all over the Torah – all over the holy scriptures.
This unexpected radical love of others - particularly to the outsiders, vulnerable, and misunderstood – is worthy of our reflection this week.
As we anticipate the coming of Jesus, what are our expectations of him?
Do we await his judgement on ‘those people’ while boasting of our own righteousness?
Is our culture’s definition of loving well his definition of loving well?
Who are the outsiders, vulnerable and misunderstood within our neighborhoods?
Are we like Jesus? Is our love tangible, inclusive, radical and baffling?
I ask God these kinds of questions in the dark early mornings as I sit in my reading chair with the holy scriptures in my lap. Sitting on the table next to me is a big, bulky visual reminder of expectations, curve balls, and Jesus’ radical love.
Jeremy’s globe.
*Yesterday my parents, Jake, and the girls joined me in church reading this advent. It was deeply meaningful. But perhaps the most meaningful moment happened sitting in the church pews mid-service when Avery leaned over and said, “I wore Jeremy’s shirt today so he was with us on that stage.” Oh sweet girl.
Note his blue plaid shirt…
