One of my favourite places to gather is around the fire! In our home, winter nights are made even more sacred when the stove is roaring and my family are all there, eating and laughing (and occasionally bickering!) together. Another fire I love is with our church community. We regularly meet outside for our Sunday morning gathering and this takes place at our local beach where the pine forest meets the salt marsh. Here you will find a fire pit area where we huddle around the flames to pray, worship, reflect and tell stories (and occasionally to bicker too!) Another is when I’ve stayed in one of the many bothies in Scotland. Here you will meet other walkers and cyclists who have been out in the wilderness all day too, and you get the fire going and share some stories with your new friends…..and maybe a wee dram or two (though hopefully no bickering here).
I was recently around a fire with a few like-hearted fellas. We gathered at a friend’s place, wrestled with wet wood to get the fire going, and then sat peacefully next to the river which was in full flow after the recent heavy rains. The tall pines that surrounded us seemed to bend in at their tops, creating a canopy overhead but leaving just enough space for the light of the stars to break through. The wonder of the natural beauty on this winter’s night didn’t escape anyone as we quietly nestled into the sacredness of the gathering.
The question we begin with each time this group get together, is to ask, “how are you ‘arriving’ here today; what emotions are present in you; or could one word describe your feelings today?”
Various replies and brief stories follow, busy weeks at work or issues to address at home. Answers like ‘weary’, ‘at ease’, ‘overwhelmed’ came from the hearts of this crew. One word caused me to pause however, and that was ‘expectant’. The chap in question didn’t really elaborate too much on what he was expectant for but it definitely got me thinking, especially in light of where the conversation went shortly afterwards. We began discussing being disappointed with God. Some freely admitted being disappointed with God at some stage in their lives, arising from unanswered prayer or God not intervening in a difficult situation. Others felt they never had, or at least had never voiced it before.
It was slightly unsettling for some as they began to look at their own disappointment with God, particularly through unmet expectations. We can easily make assumptions and have expectations of how God will show up in our lives, in our churches and in our missional endeavours; we have expectations of how God will answer our prayers or meet an injustice in the world. But sometimes the reality doesn't match up. If we’re honest, God doesn’t always do what we think He should do. And there’s the tension. If we don't bring our disappointments to God in prayer, they can become disappointment with God in our lives. And that can lead to bitterness and potentially walking away from the faith altogether.
If you resonate, don’t worry, you’re in good company. Our scriptures are literally jam-packed full of stories where God defies the expectations of His people. Sometimes they are left in awe and wonder at His greatness, kindness and mercy, while other times they turn from Him, concluding that He can’t be trusted and that they’re better off on their own.
This Advent, the nativity story is the perfect way to reflect on unmet expectations. The people wanted David II, another warrior King to lead them out from occupation and oppression and into God’s promises. What they got instead was a fragile baby, born into danger, forced into exile, and later on preaching a message of peace, non-violence and a topsy-turvy Kingdom reality.
So great was their disappointment, and so blinded were they from their unmet longings, that they killed the Word of God!!
Upon reflection then, perhaps a shift in expectation would be helpful for us in these incredibly uncertain and unnerving times. Rather than putting all our hopes, expectations and longings into how God might show up or in what God might do in answer to our prayers, let’s move our expectations towards who God is, and why He moves, acts and answers us the way He does.
Well firstly, God has revealed His love for us through Jesus, and hopefully you have all experienced it; God is sovereign and powerful yet mercifully kind; His essence and nature is beyond any perfect wonderment we could dream up. This is who we’re seeking, praying to, learning from, walking with and worshipping! We can expect love, grace, kindness, mercy, justice and forgiveness from who He is.
And secondly, God is making all things new. Through Jesus, renewal is happening in the lives and hearts of individuals and communities around the world. Despite what we hear everyday in our news feeds, God is good and committed to the restoration of His children and this planet. This is something we can expect and if we have eyes to see we can bear witness; if we have hearts to receive, we can experience it; and if we have willing feet to follow, we can be part of it.
The other expectation we can be sure of this Advent……God will continue to defy your expectations. Maybe over this season, once all the commercial nonsense dies down, once the waiting part of Advent has moved into the feasting and celebration, we’ll get just a wee glimpse of the coming Goodness……and that is something to have hopeful expectation about!
Jon Timms Director: Scotland and Northern England
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