Good Shepherd Lutheran Church / Friday, April 16, 2021 / Categories: Publications, Daily Devotions Daily Devotion by retired Pastor, Pete Rudowski WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? When I was serving as a full-time parish pastor, parishioners often came to me to complain (biblically to lament) or to gain perspective about something they experienced. In these conversations, I often asked, What did you expect to happen? The question is a psychological one. Expectations determine how we evaluate an experience. If the experience is less than what was expected, the experience is disappointing at best. If the experience meets our expectations, the experience is a good one. And, if an experience exceeds our expectation, the experience is great. I come to the festival of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, with expectations. If these expectations are met or exceeded, the seven festival weeks of Easter are great. Following are two of my expectations. I expect to hear sermons proclaim Jesus’ fight with evil on the cross has a winner, namely, Jesus defeats evil. I expect to sing hymns filled with the proclamation of Jesus’ rule over all that exists. I expect prayers filled with thanksgiving for the new life inaugurated in Jesus’ resurrection. All this means my expectations that Jesus will be with me in my fight against evil will be met. (By definition, evil is anything which separates us from the love of God.) I expect in my own devotions to read and pray over the stories of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus. I will read and pray over the story of Jesus encountering two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-43). I will read and pray over Jesus appearing in the upper room to the disciples and then a week later to the disciples including Thomas to show Thomas the nail holes in his hands and the spear wound in his side. (John 21:19-29) I will read and prayer over Jesus cooking breakfast for the disciples in Galilee, Peter’s profession of love for Jesus, and Jesus’ command to “feed my sheep.” (John 21:1-19) These prayers will lead me to look for the road to Emmaus, the upper room, and Jesus asking if I love him in my life. Knowing my expectation helps me look for and to experience where they are being met and why I feel the way that I do. Previous Article Daily Devotion Next Article Daily Devotion Print 4081 Rate this article: 5.0 Leave a comment Name: Please enter a name. Email: Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address. Comment: Please enter comment. I agree This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules. Add comment