Fourth Sunday of Advent

"...we despised him, considered him without value" (Isaiah 53:3)

Sometimes, we get things we don't want. Christmas is full of this. Be it clothes or books or household decorations, lots of people this week will end up with stuff that doesn't meet their expectation.

While no commercial will ever say it—what with their promises of the perfect gift—this experience, this feeling of not really getting what you want is right at the heart of the story of Christmas.

Think about it this way: about two thousand years ago, there was an expectation regarding the Anointed One. He'd be of royal blood, probably rich. He'd be a strong, tough leader. And he'd own those in charge. He'd kick them out, put things right again. He'd be a no-nonsense sort of fellow. He'd say what he wanted. He'd make a lot of people in power very unhappy. Those same people would unite against him, but they'd never defeat him. He was, after all, God's anointed.

In case it's been a year since you last heard the story of Christmas, I'll recap it for you: none of the above happened. The Anointed One was born, no one noticed. He wasn't rich. He didn't act at all like he was supposed to act. He did, of course, make those in power uncomfortable. And they got together, plotted, and put him on trial. But he lost that trial, and ended up dead.

"I thought," Lucy says to Aslan in Prince Caspian, "you'd come roaring in and chase away all my enemies." People gave this Anointed One every chance to be the leader, the person they wanted. They celebrated his grand entrance into Jerusalem, they followed him around, and even put up with some of the odd things he decided to say.

In the end, though, he wasn't what they wanted. They'd preferred to give him back, so to say, continue looking. But, as can happen, everyone around them seemed to think that this was just the perfect gift. So, they were stuck with it and, like some unwanted gifts, they tucked him away, pulling it out when on Sundays and when company came.

If I'm honest, Jesus isn't who I really want. I want the wild lion who'll roar and chase away the darkness. I want that warrior who shows up and destroys my enemies with the fire in his eyes, the sword from his lips.

Instead, I get someone who refuses to do this. I get someone who eats with those I disagree with, insists on loving people who don't deserve it, and, instead of being invincible, is just as vulnerable as I am.

And I wonder what I'm supposed to do with this gift.

Jesus, forgive me for following the Christ I want rather than the One you are.