“ORTHODOX” EXPECTATIONS
(Saturday, December 7)
“I look for (προσδοκῶ, exspecto, чаю) the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed)
One of the meanings of the word “doxa,” which is part of the word “Ortho-dox,” is “expectation.” I don’t think this meaning gets enough press. To be “Ortho-dox” means not only having “upright opinion” and “upright glorification/worship,” but also having our expectation(s) straightened out or aligned with God’s. In practical terms, this means that on a daily basis, I let God heal my not-straight, perhaps delusional, fear-based, or wishful-thinking kinds of expectations and ambitions, all of which lead to pain.
My fundamental “expectation,” or that which I am always to “look for” in any situation, is new life; “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.” This new life-from-death breaks into my life already in my here and now, whenever I let God replace self-reliant fear with God-reliant faith, and unreasonable expectations of myself or others (negative or positive) with humility and patience.
If I wake up on any given morning feeling uneasy about the coming day, let me scramble promptly into God’s presence, in a bit of heartfelt prayer, because the uneasy feeling is God’s tap on the shoulder, saying, “Hey! Come back! I have some new life for you today, and I’m expecting you to be there for it!” Let me “look for” it this Saturday, as I let God set me straight and bring my heart back to life in Him.
