ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 21, 2025
Every parent has certain dreams when it comes to their child. Most everyone has certain hopes when they begin a new part of life. And I am guessing that you bring certain expectations to this season of the year. Even when I pretend that I am open to whatever might come my way, there is still nostalgia deeply rooted in certain memories that create expectations. Are some of them a bit unrealistic? Maybe. Are others highly dependent on things outside of my control? Probably. Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote something down as I was beginning to sketch out one of my Christmas Eve sermons. I wrote, “Maybe I should simply expect God to do what God needs to do in this moment, and then pray that my expectations don’t keep me from noticing what God is doing.” I don’t believe expectations are a bad thing at all, but they do have the capacity to leave us looking at the present and the future through a very narrow lens. What are we missing? How might our expectations keep us from being faithful to God’s expectations of love, mercy, justice, and kindness?
Though I might have certain hopes and wishes this holiday season, I look to you, Giver of the Christ Child, in hopes that the expectations I have of my own life reflect the expectations you have for the world. Amen.
