EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Esperen Uds. el Inesperado
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Tuesday, May 31, 2022
I unexpectedly found myself face-to-beak with a hummingbird!. [Photographer: Bryan Hanson. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
A red handle hung from our garage door opener so that the garage door could be opened manually, if needed. I had become so accustomed to that hanging red handle that I didn't pay much attention to it as I stood near it. But a hummingbird noticed it, flew in, inspected the red handle that hung a few inches from my face, realized the handle held no nutrition, gave me a hasty glance, and then quickly darted back outside. The bird's visit was so quick and unexpected that it startled me! I scarcely had time to appreciate the beauty of my visitor before it was gone!
Because that neighborhood was near the foothills of ten-thousand-foot mountains, we were warned to be on the lookout for bears that sometimes came down from the mountains looking for food in garbage cans. We never saw any. However, residents in another neighborhood in the foothills were cautioned to watch out for deer leaping in front of their vehicles.
Out in the open country or even around a forest, one expects to see a sign warning of deer crossing the road. However, this sign is an unexpected sight in an urban residential area, as you can tell from the accompanying stop sign. [Photographer: Mary Hunt Webb*.]
Life is full of events and sights that catch us by surprise. If you are a cat owner, or a cat owns you, you may be accustomed to the unexpected. Once, when I went to visit my relatives in another state, I stayed with my nephew, David. His cat, Homer, seemed to own the place while allowing David to pay the rent and buy the food. When it was time for me to return home, I opened my suitcase to make sure everything was packed and ready for my journey. I had turned to get something, and when I turned back, I found Homer curled up in the lid as if to say, "No, you're not going anywhere. I want you to stay."
While we may expect unpredictable conduct from animals, people also experience unanticipated events with each other.
While we may expect the unexpected from animals, the same is true of humans. Many of us that are walking around today were unanticipated surprises for our parents. [Photographer: ImagesBG. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
Jesus was one of those people that was unexpected in many ways. The announcement by an angel of his intended arrival was first astonishing to his unmarried mother, Mary, and then to Mary's fiancé, Joseph. Jesus was also a surprise to the Jewish people because some did not expect the Messiah to appear first as an infant even though the Old Testament scripture had predicted his birth. Additionally, those that thought he would arrive as an infant imagined that he would be born into a royal family or, at least, an upper class one, rather than into a working-class family. Many expected, or hoped, that the Messiah would liberate Judea (that we now know as Israel) from Roman rule.
This map of the Mediterranean Sea at the time of the Roman Empire shows Judea/Israel in green on the right-hand side of the coastal area. [Creator: Joël Thibault, courtesy of Commons.wikimedia.org.]
When one looks at a map of the Mediterranean Sea for the time period during which Jesus lived, one can see that Judea/Israel was just one of many provinces that the Romans ruled, and it was a comparatively tiny one at that. The likelihood of throwing off the Roman yoke was humanly impossible at that time. Because Jesus didn't meet the messianic expectations of the Jewish leaders, they discounted Him as the Messiah although He did fit the Old Testament messianic predictions.
As we read the predictions in the New Testament of Jesus' return, many people are tempted to follow the pattern of the Old Testament patriarchs and impose certain earthly expectations on His anticipated reappearance. However, Jesus himself warned against that in Matthew 24:42 when He said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (NIV)
Since we don't know when or how Jesus will return, we can continue to expect the Unexpected. It's God's favorite way to do things.
BIBLE VERSE USED IN THIS POSTING
Matthew 24:42 — Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (NIV)
San Mateo 24:42 — Velad, pues, porque no sabéis a qué hora ha de venir vuestro Señor. (Reina-Valera 1960)
In the same way that a lighthouse keeper of former times never knew when a ship might come near the shore, we do not know when Jesus will return. [Photographer: Bryan Hanson. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
* Please do not use our original photos without our permission. These include photos by Mary Hunt Webb, Morris Webb, Jr., Morris Webb, Sr., and C.B. Hunt. Thank you.
