The Expected One

I'm reading through the gospel of Luke right now. Usually around this time of year, I'll focus in on selected readings centering around the birth of Jesus, but this year I'm continuing on through the book. It's been very enriching and eye-opening for me to read the accounts of Jesus' ministry. I don't know if it's partly because I haven't read through the Gospels in a while, or if it's because I'm really feeling broken and messy and in need of a Saviour right now, and maybe both. I'm just always struck by the stories that I'm reading.
For the past few days, I've been reading over and over again the story of John's disciples going to Jesus to ask Him questions. The whole story itself, with how the "sinners and traders" believed He was the Messiah, because they had received the baptism of repentance, and the Pharisees couldn't deal with their own inconsistencies and denied their hypocrisy, because they weren't living lives of repentance... that was very humbling for me to look at and examine. But what also struck me was John the Baptist's question for Jesus, "Are you the EXPECTED ONE, or do we look for someone else?" And here is Jesus the Messiah, the One they have been waiting for for so long, standing and performing miracles and saying that He is the One. All the while, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, men who had been studying about the coming of the Messiah for their whole lives, didn't even see Him as He really was- the Expected One. They were looking for someone else.
This time of year is always really interesting for me- I always feel this tension in my heart. There are so many distractions and attention-pulling things around me. And a lot of them are good things, like planning out a carol service in the market, or attending Christmas parties, or making Christmas cards. But I confess that most years, it's not until Christmas Eve night, when I'm lying on the couch with all the lights off, except for the Christmas tree, and everyone else is sleeping, that I really realize it's Christmas the next day. And I think that's kind of sad. Because what's going on in the hussle and bussle is not always helping me live in expectation of the Expected One. I am so so often a Pharisee, thinking that I know all this stuff about Jesus, but I'm looking around for someone else or something else or something that I can DO to save me. When really, He's standing right here wanting me to live in expectation of Him and what He can do in my life, in my brokenness. I'm so thankful that He is the Expected One, the One this world has been waiting for.