Matthew 11:8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.
A relative of mine used to say, “Don’t go fishing in a tree. You’ll come up empty and annoy the squirrels.” Jesus says this same thing to people who had come to see John the Baptist. They had expectations about John, expectations that were not met. John was not a sweet, elegant preacher who never said anything that offended anyone.
We all bring our expectations to Jesus and our faith communities. Some of them are realistic, while others are the spiritual equivalent of fishing in a tree. When our expectations are not met, how many of us become angry, disappointed, and frustrated?
Can we expect our faith communities to strive to love God and each other? Yes. Can we expect them never to disappoint us? No. Can we expect our faith communities to engage in forgiveness? Yes. Can we demand forgiveness be easy and instantaneous? Probably not.
Have you ever “fished in a tree”? How might we modify our expectations to be more realistic?
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