ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 20, 2025
Tomorrow in worship, we will be talking about expectations that people have of us. For some of you, once you were married or maybe once you had kids, you discovered expectations for the holidays that you were not expecting. It seems strange to say that you were caught off guard because you did not expect the expectation. Yet so often, people have an expectation of us that was not communicated, and not only is it a bit unsettling when you first learn of this expectation, but then you have to determine whether you are going to accept the expectation that someone put upon you without your permission. The holidays are complicated, but frequently those complications are intensified by people dancing around one another because no expectation has been communicated, only assumed. Successful people often say, “It’s all about setting high expectations,” and though I would hesitate to suggest otherwise, I believe it is more than “setting” the high expectations. It is about communicating those expectations and, equally important, is for us to explain why we are setting a specific expectation. The expectation by itself can easily be misinterpreted without the why. And as uncomfortable as it might be, when you are questioning or feel entirely in the dark about someone else’s expectation of you, it is important to ask for clarification. And then follow up with the question, “So tell me why you believe that is an important expectation?”
Your love, Holy God, is both a gift and an expectation, but I thank Jesus for his clarity on this topic. Continue to teach me how to live into the expectation of faithfulness, especially in a world where I am too often inundated with expectations that no one has specifically named or explained. Amen.
- 12-27-25 - December 27, 2025
- 12-26-25 - December 26, 2025
- 12-25-25 – Christmas Day - December 25, 2025