Making Connections

The people who lined the street for that first parade of palms expected that Jesus would be a leader. What was not expected by some in that crowd was that he had not come to just lead the Jewish people. He not come to bring more power to a particular nation, rather he came to empower all people.

For some the expectations of the Messiah, the Christ, lead them into an all or nothing way of thinking. He would be a political leader or he would not be a leader at all. As a result they missed the possibility that Jesus could have had another purpose, one that would reveal a greater meaning to Jesus’ presence among them. With the expectations for a political saviour unfulfilled, and goaded by the fears of the powerbrokers of the day, it is no surprise that the shouts of hosanna turned to “crucify” so quickly.

To a more limited degree, we still see this shift in the world today when a leader, coach, team, or sport’s figure fails to deliver on a people’s expectations, especially strongly held unrealistic expectations, the adoring crowd quickly becomes a mob.

Sarah the prairie dog’s story gives us an idea on how to handle expectations, and how to evaluate events in life in a more helpful way. Like the people in Jesus’ story, Sarah’s neighbours saw things as being either positive or negative. From the perspective of her fellow prairie dogs, good or bad things were to be expected from her experiences. The leak in her den was a bad thing, her wisdom in creating a second entrance was a good thing, her breaking a nail was a bad thing, etc. For Sarah, the value—mostly good—would only be revealed in the long run. Time would tell. Whatever happened, happened in a long string of cause and effect; the wisdom of life was in being passionately engaged, hopeful, and watchful. Sarah avoided the trap of unrealistic or unhelpful expectations, by being open to possibilities that her neighbours missed. (continued ... )