What do you expect?

Below is the outline for my sermon this morning.

Read Isaiah 40:1-11

What Do You Expect?

I. One of the things that has always amazed me about the Jewish community is their sense of expectancy. The Jewish community as a whole has a much high sense of expectancy, of expecting to see God at work in the world and in their lives than most Christians do.

II. Jewish expectations of what the Messiah would look like and how the messiah would act

a. King, who would re-establish the nation of Israel

b. Military ruler who would conquer their oppressors

c. Would uphold the law perfectly – all 613 commands

III. They kept this sense of expectancy that the Messiah would come by integrating it into their lives.

a. Sabbath worship – opening the doors, turn towards them and pray for the coming of Elijah who is believed to proceed the messiah.

i. As part of the concluding hymn, an appeal is made to God that Elijah will come during the following week. “Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite. Let him come quickly, in our day with the messiah, the son of David.”[35]

b. Passover remembers the saving activity of God in the past and points to God’s continuing presence and God’s future deliverance.

i. This was especially poignant when they were in exile or being oppressed.

ii. The Elijah cup – At each Passover meal, a cup of wine was placed in the center of the table. This cup was reserved for Elijah and no one else drank it. It was an act of hospitality towards Elijah, but it also served as a visual reminder that Elijah would come any day.

1. Many Christian theologians believe it was the Elijah cup that Christ picked up from the table at the last supper and blessed as a part of the celebration we now call Communion.

IV. Judaism cultivated a sense of expectancy in their life together. Yet, we often point our fingers at the Jewish community for missing the birth of Christ. We say how silly it is that they had the wrong expectations of the messiah. Since Jesus didn’t fit their preconceived notions of what the Messiah would be like many don’t recognize him as the messiah. We tell ourselves it’s such a shame that they had the wrong expectations.

V. But at least the Jews actually expected something. At least they actually expect God to be powerfully at work in their midst. Like our prayer of confession said, a lot of us don’t really expect Christ to return in our life-time, let alone before the next Sabbath like the Jewish prayer talked about.

VI. It is in this context with a lack of a sense of expectancy that these familiar words of Isaiah come to us. Isaiah calls out a reminder for us that God is here and is on the move.

a. Isaiah says, “Here is your God! See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him….He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart”

VII. So how do we cultivate a sense of expectancy of God’s activity in our midst?

a. When we expect a guest in our house there are certain things we do to prepare.

i. Clean

ii. Make up the guest room

iii. Plan what to cook.

b. If we expect God to be present in our lives then there are things we should do to prepare for God.

i. Prayer/devotional life

ii. Recounting the ways that God has been active in our midst

1. We do this corporately as we celebrate special events in the church calendar

a. Christmas

b. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday

2. We should also do this individually and as families, we should be intentional about remembering how God has been active in our lives.

3. Part of recounting the ways God has been active in our lives is sharing those stories with other people. As we hear those stories from others, we begin to expect it in our own lives.

iii. Looking for ways to partner with God’s work in the world.

1. It may be something relatively small like talking to the person sitting next to you on the plane.

2. Inviting someone to church

3. Going on a mission trip

VIII. Advent is a season of expectancy. It’s a time where we remember the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh, God among us, but it’s also a time where we wait in hope and anticipation for the return of Christ.

IX. How will you cultivate a sense of Expectancy this year? Let us prepare the way of the Lord! Amen