We want to know what’s expected so we can respond accordingly. The platitude says, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” So we need to have a handle on what the Romans actually do, and what they expect others to do.

We often find ourselves handicapped because we are either unclear or misguided about expectations. The simple truth is, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” And not knowing what’s expected can create in us high levels of stress and anxiety.

I have vivid recollections of my first date. I remember how stressful it was to simply make the phone call to ask for the date. Now I had already determined that there is safety in numbers - so the plan called for a double date with my good friend, Bruce. But how to ask? When to ask? What to ask? (I knew who I wanted to ask.) Who should ask first? What if I got a date and then Bruce didn’t? What then? And how could I come across as self-assured and sophisticated on the phone (Which is what I assumed was expected.), when I felt inept and inadequate? Bruce and I even worked out written scripts to refer to as we made our calls. Much to our surprise, we both got dates - on the first try! (That was both good news and bad news - now we had to go through with it!)

 Well, then how do you act on a date when you’ve never been on a date before? What did girls expect? (I had no older sister to consult with.) I felt that I was expected to know what to do and say (How to be cool and suave.), even though I had no experience. We came up with what we thought was a solution. We’d go to a movie ­ a long movie - because at a movie you don’t have to do or say anything. So I took Sue Carlson and Bruce took Linda Goll to see “Dr. Zhivago.” And in the end, all our worries about their expectations were overblown. Neither Bruce nor I was old enough to drive, so we were chauffeured by Bruce’s older brother, Jeff. Now Jeff had just come home from his freshmen year at Dartmouth - and our dates were infinitely more interested in him than in either of us. It’s a long process figuring out what the opposite sex expects. In fact, I’m still learning!

On another level, a profound question for each of us as a Christian is: “What does God expect?” The prophet Micah addresses this question head on in our first reading, and he begins by stating what God does not expect from us: not burnt offerings, not thousands of rams, not ten thousands of rivers of oil, not our first-born child. Paul picks up the same theme in our second Reading, reminding us that God doesn’t expect us to be among the wisest, most powerful, or most noble. What God wants is this: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” That’s a list short enough to remember: do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.

These expectations were laid down over 2500 years ago, and they haven’t changed. In fact, Jesus picks up these very themes in the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount. Those familiar versus we call the Beatitudes. Jesus articulates and underlines what it means to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. Those who do justice are people who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In other words, those who have a deep and abiding hunger - not just for personal pleasure, but for true goodness. Justice is hard enough to achieve when we aim for it with all our heart, yet if we have no passion for it, justice will be rare indeed.

It rarely happens by accident. Most of us expect to be treated fairly, but those who hunger and thirst for justice long to see all people treated fairly. Doing justice means being a peacemaker. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is such a thankless task.” This world is not very kind to peacemakers. The world rewards those who can assert their power effectively. The world is not eager to listen to those who advocate compromise or sacrifice, those who speak on behalf of the powerless. But without true justice, there can be no lasting peace.

 Furthermore, Jesus knows that doing justice can be controversial, and so he says by way of warning: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” It’s a lot easier to do nothing that it is to do justice. But God expects us to do more than play it safe. In God we see the perfect balance of justice and mercy. So along with doing justice, God expects us to love kindness. Jesus says: “Blessed are the meek.” The meek are those who love kindness more than power; kindness more than power. To love kindness is not to be a doormat. It takes tremendous strength and self control to be gentle and compassionate. Like Jesus, we are called not to be served by others, but to be eager to serve - to offer our lives. So Jesus reminds us: “Blessed are the merciful.” Our aim is not to get even, to give as good as we get. Our aim is to return good for evil, and so break the endless cycle of revenge. We who hope for mercy are also expected to extend mercy to others. And if you love kindness, know for sure that your heart will be broken - expect to mourn. Those who love kindness will mourn over the: brokenness and cruelty in the world; the sorrows and sufferings of others; and over their own sins, pains and contradictions. “Blessed are those who mourn.” If your heart can be broken, it shows you still have a heart - that in spite of everything, you still love kindness.

And finally, we are expected to walk humbly with God. Jesus offers two insights into this expectation. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (or as a more congenial translation puts it) “How blessed are those who know their need for God.” The world calls those “blessed” who have no apparent needs, who are apparently self-sufficient. But the wise realize they will never outgrow their need for God. And so, they aim to stay close and walk humbly with their Lord.

“Blessed are the pure in heart.” Frederick Buechner suggests that “pure in heart” does not mean perfect or totally pure, but refers instead to “the ones who may be as shopworn and clay footed as the next one, but have somehow kept some inner freshness and innocence intact.” It was Soren Kierkegaard who said, “The purity of heart is to will one thing.” To keep priorities straight, to focus on Christ, to seek first the Kingdom of God, is the way of walking humbly with God.

If we pay attention at all, we begin to realize that God’s expectations are by no means simple or minimal. God expects something more than staying out of trouble, going to church, or doing a good deed now and then. Certainly God’s expectations exceed the minimal constitutional requirements for church membership, i.e., to commune once a year, and make a contribution of record. God actually expects us to become more and more like Jesus - that’s the program! To grow in grace and to grow up into Christ. Experience teaches us that people do tend to rise to the level of expectations. When little is expected, little is achieved. So it is essential to make clear what God expects of his children. And remember this, God’s high expectations come with a great promise included. The promise is that we will be BLESSED, and not only in the end, as a reward, but in the process along the way. Walking humbly with our just and loving God is not a means to some greater goal. It is the goal. To walk with God is its own reward.

Amen.