September 16, 2026

I just finished reading a book that I was tempted to put down earlier (which says a great deal because I am loathe to NOT finish a book). The book did not meet my expectations, which were high. The author has been acclaimed as the finest poet of the 20th-century by many readers that I respect and follow.

Perhaps the translation from the Spanish was not very good. Maybe the poems selected to be included in the book were not the poet’s finest but were truly loved by the editor. (Poetry, after all, is highly personal.) Maybe I wasn’t in the right space to read the book at this time. In any event, my expectations were not met, and that disappointed and saddened me.

Which gets me to thinking about the “expectations” I have of God. I suppose in some religious frameworks there is the expectation that a sacrifice to God should reward the one doing the sacrifice. I know better. We of the Protestant variety of Christian expression don’t look too kindly on what could be called “works righteousness.” (Which is also sad for me.)

But doesn’t a belief in “faith alone” come with its own expectations? For example, “I believe so therefore I am saved”?

If there is one thing I know about the God of scripture and about the God who created everything, I know this: the God of surprises always overturns expectations. Perhaps I need to take this understanding and apply it more liberally in my life and to my reading. But doesn’t that mean I should then expect the unexpected? How comfortable does that make me/you feel?

Rev. Eric