The Gospel of the Unexpected

Part of the greatest joy and frustration in our lives is that certain aspects of it cannot be planned for, events never happen when you expect them. Expectations come up over and over again in the gospel story of Luke, usually with Jesus breaking other people's ideas of who he should be and what he should be doing. Indeed, listen to the stories he tells! The story in the passage for today from chapter 14, a man decides to share a great dinner with lots of people. He wants to share his abundance with others. He wants to share his joy with others, to share with them the substance of life, not only food, but community. Yet, his guests make excuses about showing up. They were not open to the unexpected in their lives and they turn down this open opportunity and invitation to participate in the man's joy. One says he has to tend to some land, another has some oxen to deal with, another has just gotten married. All important aspects of life, but all things which keep them from participating in God's unexpected work in the world. Instead, the man throwing the dinner invites anyone who will come, those who are open, people on the streets, the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame.

Many times our expectations can hold us back. Perhaps the original dinner guests had been expecting more time to prepare or for the invitation to come on another day. Either way, their expectations of what should happen keep them from participating in the man's joy and abundance. How often do your expectations hold you back? What expectations of Jesus are you learning to let go of? How has reading Luke helped you accept Jesus for who he is and what he is doing, instead of your own expectations? What expectations are you still holding onto? Lent is a season of examination and sometimes simply the practice of examining our own lives in God's light allows us to make changes for the better, to let go of things which are holding us back.