expectation

Today's Gospel reading got me thinking, and praying, and expecting.

They said, "Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?"
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house."
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Mark 6

The problem with the locals, was that they could not see past Jesus as the Jewish kid, who lived down the road and who played ball on the street with Zed and Zaza. 

If any adult whom we knew as a child does well, we will certainly hear people who also knew them back then remark: 'but he is just that kid who always kicked the ball into my garden. Who does he think he is now?' 

The same thing happened with Jesus, the Son of God.


People's preconceptions prevented them from looking to him with the expectation and hope that is the mark of faith. The fact that they knew him as the neighbour's boy Jesus, prevented them from seeing his divine reality. As a result they expected nothing of him except that he would kick the ball over their back fence, and then trample on the cabbages when rescuing it.

This is the tragedy of a lack of faith: we turn to God with expectation of nothing, when in fact we need EVERYTHING from God.  

The person of faith is not the one who has no difficulty believing in God or sensing the presence of God. 

Instead the faith-filled person is the one who knows that they are weak, vulnerable and sinful, and who turns to God expecting EVERYTHING.

God does not miss an opportunity to work miracles in the lives of those who turn to Him expecting nothing less than everything.