Great Expectations – December 23, 2024

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.”
Luke 1:46-49

Great Expectations

When I was younger, I played a lot of sports—football, basketball, baseball—you name it. And I remember dreaming that one day I would be able to make it to the pros: Throwing the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl! Hitting the buzzer beater in the Finals! Knocking the bottom of the ninth home run out of the park to win the World Series! Wouldn’t that be sweet?! Unfortunately for me, some people have done those things, but I never did.

I have had the opportunity to coach at the elementary school and high school level. And I have heard from some of my players the same kind of hopes and dreams that I had when I was their age. Over the years, I also heard from some of their parents that they had hopes their child would eventually make it to the pros. But none of them ever did.

Some parents have great expectations for their children. But sometimes, those expectations are greater than what is realistic.

Mary had high hopes for the child she was carrying but her expectations exceeded anything you or I or anyone else could ever do: She expected her child to save the world from death. That seems like a lot of pressure to put on a kid who hasn’t even taken his first steps yet, doesn’t it?

So, why did Mary have this hope? Because she knew that her child was unlike any other. Her Son was and is the Son of God who masked himself in flesh to do the impossible—to live the life of perfection we never could, to crawl out of his cradle and climb onto the cross, to defeat death, and rise so that you and I could live forever. And, thanks be to God, that’s exactly what he did!

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for sending me a Savior who could do what I never could. Amen.