The Third Sunday of Advent - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

Matthew 11:2-11 – Advent 3 – December 13, 2025

Have you ever gone to a new restaurant and when you left, you said, “That’s not what I expected.”? Have you ever gone to a movie and, as you were walking out, you said, “That’s not what I expected.”? Maybe it happened to you when you went on a trip, to an event, or visited a new place. You thought you knew what you were going to see or experience, but it really was not what you expected.

Today, John the Baptist is sitting in prison. King Herod married his brother’s ex-wife, and John had a few words to him about how wrong that was. Along with this denunciation of Herod, John also announced something that King Herod wasn’t quite thrilled about – the announcement that God’s kingdom and God’s true king were on the way. Pretty much saying that Herod wasn’t the real king and that God was going to replace him. Thus, John is sitting in prison.

Now in prison, John is a little disappointed. Jesus is not doing the things John expected him to be doing. John expected Jesus to come into the world like a bull in a china shop. He was going to come into the world raising cane. He was going to topple Herod from his throne and become king. Then he could release his cousin from prison and give him a place of honor.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a national figure in the equal rights movement. He was articulate and strategic. People believed he was the leader they needed right at that moment. His supporters could feel the momentum Dr. King was making. They could see that change was on its way.

Dr. King was in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of a campaign led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in America. It was known for the violence and resistance to civil rights. Dr. King believed that if segregation could be defeated in Birmingham, the rest of the country would be easy.

While participating in a peaceful, nonviolent march, Dr. King was arrested. He had violated a court injunction banning protests in the city. He was taken away quietly and locked in a jail cell. King was isolated. He was powerless. This was not what the people had expected from their leader. Others had told him that this wasn’t the right time for a protest. He had been asked to be more patient, but he was persistent in his actions.

While in jail, King began to write. In his confinement, he wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail." The letter shaped civil rights for generations. In his letter, he addressed the cost of waiting. He wrote that when we are suffering, and we hear “wait,” we think it means “never.”  A court injunction sent him to jail, so in his letter, he addressed just and unjust laws. Instead of asking God why he was in jail, he asked how he could remain faithful while in jail. Jail became a pulpit for Dr. King. His letter changed the civil rights discussion from politics to morality. It gave language to the suffering of the black people. It helped prepare the groundwork for change.

While sitting in jail, John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Are you the one?” John wasn’t rejecting Jesus. He was questioning the cost of waiting faithfully. Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what they saw and heard Jesus doing. John wanted immediate release from jail and to take down Herod, but Jesus was showing John transformation. During John’s imprisonment, Jesus strengthened John’s faith.

How often do you say, “This isn’t what I expected?” Both John the Baptist and Dr. Martin Luther King had faithful expectations. We don’t expect God to be cruel or absent in our lives. We say things like, “If I pray, the situation will change.” “If I act morally and always do the right thing, the right outcome will follow.” Sometimes things don’t go as we expected. An illness isn't cured, the job we expected doesn’t come through, our prayer isn’t answered the way we had hoped. When this happens, we sometimes catch ourselves saying, “Is this really how God works? Did God misunderstand me when I prayed my prayer?” When we ask these questions, it’s not that we are rebelling against God. It’s being honest with our struggle with faith when we are hurting.

Jesus’ response to John wasn’t to get angry. He responded to John by showing him how God was at work, even if it wasn’t what he expected. When God doesn’t meet our expectations, it isn’t about disappointment. It’s about understanding who God is and how God works. Jesus said, “Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Blessed is the one who keeps trusting.

Today we lit the third Advent candle—the pink candle, representing joy and expectation. The joy we celebrate today is not because we have all the answers and everything is resolved. The joy comes in our waiting through disappointment. Joy doesn’t mean we live free of pain or that life is easy. Joy comes in expectation of the kingdom of God already here, but not yet. It comes in healing and in restoration. It comes from recognizing God’s work, no matter our circumstances.

This week, may you rejoice because God is near. May you rejoice even when things aren’t as you expected them to be. May you see God’s work in unexpected places. May you be filled with joy, not because you have what you expected but because God is faithful even when you don’t.  Amen.