The classic novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens centers around the story of a young English orphan boy named Pip who lives with his older sister and brother-in-law. One evening, while visiting the grave of his parents, an escaped convict named Magwitch appears. He coerces Pip to get him some food and a file so that he can free himself from his leg irons. Out of fear, Pip gives into the convict's requests, and though Magwitch is temporarily free, he is soon after re-apprehended. The story moves on and Magwitch is forgotten.
When Pip is a little older, he is taken to the home of an old, eccentric, but wealthy spinster named Miss Havisham who had been jilted at the altar decades before and now spends her days moping around her large house in her wedding dress. He's brought to the spinster's house from time to time to be a companion for the woman's "niece", Estella. Estella treats Pip with great contempt, nevertheless, he falls in love with the girl and dreams of becoming a gentleman so that he might marry her.
When Pip is older, Miss Havisham does him a favor, but not the favor that he expects. She provides him with a modest sum of money so that he might become an apprentice blacksmith to his brother-in-law, Joe. But before long, a lawyer arrives and informs the family that an anonymous benefactor has set aside a large fortune for Pip and that he is to immediately move to London to learn the fine art of living as a gentleman. Of course, Pip assumes the benefactor must be none other than Miss Havisham and he assumes that he is destined to one day marry Estella.
After some time in London, while running up enormous debts and living a life not much sort of debauchery, Pip receives a shock to the system when on a dark night, Magwitch, the old escaped convict unexpectedly appears in his lodgings. Pip discovers that Magwitch, not Miss Havisham is his secret benefactor. Magwitch had been transported to Australia, but after some years in the penal colony, he had amassed a large fortune. To repay Pip for his kindness all those years before, Magwitch put his wealth into a trust for Pip, to make him into a gentleman.
But Pip is crushed by this new revelation. It means that Miss Havisham is not his benefactor and it casts doubt on the possibility of him ever marrying his dream girl, Estella. As the story continues to progress we learn that through an unexpected twist, Magwitch is the father of Estella. Years before, Miss Havisham had procured Estella in order to raise her to be a tease to men. She was to learn the fine art of tempting men in order to dash their expectations into tiny little pieces. This would be Miss Havisham's revenge on men - her way to get "even" after having lost her love at the altar. Pip was merely a pawn in her cruel game - he was to be Estella's plaything as she learned the fine art of toying with men.
Eventually the characters go their separate ways. Pip leaves for business, Estella marries another man, though she doesn't seem to find happiness. After she's widowed, she and Pip are reunited. But the story is left open ended. The reader never discovers whether either of their "great expectations" were ever realized.
Our lives mirror some of the features of this novel. Even people of faith, who have rooted their lives in the gospel can relate to this story. Like a well written novel with twists, turns, and unexpected developments, the Biblical story too, is surprising. The reader of Christian Scripture soon discovers that God's ways are not our ways and our expectations are frequently altered along the way. To have faith doesn't mean one has complete understanding, but walking by faith is about pursuing God in the midst of our questions and our misunderstandings. We don't always have the right answers and many times we discover that we're not even asking the right questions.
The narrative of John 20:1-10 (NRSV) highlights this. "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.' Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes."
As soon as Mary arrived at the garden tomb, her expectations were altered. She had expected the stone to still be in place, but it had been removed. She thought that Jesus' lifeless body would be resting on the shelf in the tomb, but it too had been removed. As she rose early on the first day of the week, she had expected to encounter the dead body of her friend Jesus, but her expectations were altered, because her expectations were not great enough. So, Mary, assuming that Jesus' body must have been taken, ran to tell Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved.
What expectations did Peter have on this Sunday morning? The last he had seen of Jesus was just before Jesus' crucifixion when he denied being his disciple in the face of his fear of death. He certainly didn't expect that Mary would arrive with news of an empty tomb. He didn't expect to run to that garden tomb and find Jesus' burial cloths lying there, as if Jesus' body had passed through the cloths without them being unwound or torn.
The first day of the week didn't turn out the way the beloved disciple imagined either. He too had his expectations turned upside down, or maybe, right side up.
Neither Peter, nor the disciple, nor Mary understood that Jesus must rise from the dead. So, initially, the removed stone, the empty tomb, and the burial cloths raised more questions than they provided answers. But despite their uncertainties, all three individuals ran - they ran with longing - they ran with hope - hope that their expectations, though changed, might be greater than they ever imagined!
We might relate to these three characters at this point in the story - the point, where at verse 10, Jesus remained hidden from them. Yes, the stone had been rolled away. Yes, the tomb was empty. Yes, the burial cloths were still present, though undamaged. But this was a plot twist that none of the three had expected. They thought that they knew the story of Israel's God, but their expectations needed refining. The God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence, things that do not exist, needed to raise their expectations. Mary, Peter, and the other disciple needed greater expectations.
Like being filled with anticipation as we read a good novel, it's tempting to want to read on in the story. And we should read on. But sometimes it's wise to stay put for a while. Before we encounter the risen Jesus, sometimes we need to sit with the mystery of the empty tomb. We need to wrestle with the big questions. What does it all mean? Where is God in all of this? Where's the new creation in this broken, sinful world? Why did it happen this way? What does the future hold?
Sometimes we find ourselves in the empty tomb. The stone has been rolled away. The graveclothes are still present. The tomb is empty. But still, we don't see Jesus. And we wonder, "Where have they taken him?"
Like Pip, maybe we had great expectations for our lives. Maybe we had it all mapped out. But then a plot twist developed. Life didn't turn out quite like we thought it would. Maybe it turned out better, but maybe it turned out worse. Or maybe, it just turned out different. We still believe that the tomb is empty - we believe that Jesus is risen - he's risen indeed! And yet, we struggle to recalibrate our expectations. At times, the risen Jesus remains hidden from us. And this is where Mary's, Peter's, and the other disciple's stories can help us.
They didn't have all the answers. They didn't even know all the questions. But all three of them ran in search of Jesus. They did not abandon their faith and they did not lose hope. They continued to pursue God. And then they discovered that rather than finding God, he instead found them - but in ways they could have never expected. Their greatest expectations were not only met, but exceeded when they encountered the risen Jesus.
While we wait in our empty tombs - while we wrestle with the big questions - as we discover that we may never have all the answers - may their stories of faith and hope inspire us to press on. Like those three, may we run with longing. And just as their greatest expectations were far exceeded, may we trust that the same will be true for us. - Shay
No comments:
Post a Comment