Matthew’s Bear

By the Very Rev. Sherry Crompton
December 16, 2007
Read: Matthew 11:2-11

Today I want to tell you about my buddy, Matthew. When Matthew was 3 he asked Santa for a teddy bear. His parents were surprised because he already had a teddy bear that he took everywhere with him—to bed, to day care, shopping. When he was sent to his room for time out, he had his teddy bear..his best friend, Koko. So, when Matthew asked for a second teddy bear everyone was surprised. I guess Santa was too, because Santa didn’t leave one that year. Koko continued to be Matthew’s best friend and time-out buddy, and no one heard a word about another teddy bear—until next Christmas.

At the end of his letter to Santa he wrote: “and the bear you forgot to bring me last year”. When he went to visit Santa at the mall, Matthew reminded him to bring “the bear you forgot to bring me last year”. When he told his grandparents what he wanted for Christmas he said, “and the bear Santa forgot to bring me last year”. Santa didn’t forget that year and under the tree was a small, soft, dark brown bear whom Matthew promptly named, “Misfit.”

Matthew was expectant. He spent an entire year waiting and expecting that Santa would bring that bear the next Christmas. In our story from the Bible this morning, John was expectant. He expected Jesus to be the Messiah. But then John ended up in prison and wasn’t so sure that Jesus was who he thought he was. And so he asked the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”. And Jesus told his disciples to tell John what they see.

People’s lives were changed. It may not have been exactly what John was expecting…it was better. People’s lives were changed because they encountered Jesus. God wants us to live expectant lives. God wants us to expect Jesus to be here for us. Just like Matthew expected that the bear would show up. Believe that Jesus is here for you now. Amen.