There are all kinds of choices and decisions we have to make, some of which are conscious and some are more made within the sub-conscience. Perhaps we have to make a choice about our finances or our family. We have to make choices about our health and we have to make choices about the ways our faith will impact our living. Yet, sometimes, we choose without really knowing we have made a choice. Perhaps out of our conditioning by our family or our faith or our circumstance, or even our attitude we make choices in our speech, behavior, and feelings. Sometimes, we even say, "I did not have a choice." Personally, I struggle to find a circumstance when that is really the case, for even doing nothing in the midst of a situation, is actually a choice.

Jesus was often impacted by the choices and decisions of others. We might not read a text or the Gospels in that way, but it is true. There were some who rejected Jesus and some who followed him. A choice. There were some who welcomed him, and there were some who rejected him. A choice. There were some who listened and embraced his teachings and ways of living in the world, and there are some who refused to do so for a variety of reasons. A choice. In our text for this Sunday (Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30) we hear a Jesus reflecting upon the choices people have made in terms of their expectations. Jesus often found himself coming face to face with expectations of others (something all preachers, myself included experience in a variety of ways) who thought a Messiah should not say the things he said, did the things he did, or hang out with the people he hung out with. How did he respond? By simply naming and claiming that not matter what, some people will never be pleased, that the ways they express their displeasure is childish - and that "pleasing people" is not a mark of faithful discipleship. But he did something else, also. He affirmed the good in people. He expresses gratitude for those who have made the choice to follow him. Even more interesting is his observation about those in society who have chosen to follow and his observations about those who complain.

In a world where we seemingly make the choice to see the bad or negative in someone or a certain situation, rather than the good Jesus provides for us a faithful journey of choice. It is easy to tear something down, but how hard can it be to lift something up. Because many of us seem conditioned to take the easier route in life of faith (the path of least resistance) our choices often reflect the negative rather than the positive.

In this sermon, we will affirm that "We All Have a Choice" about how we choose to see the world and the people within it. This Sunday we will touch on the issue of expectations - and that often our expectations are unfair, and say more about us than it does about the person who fails to meet ours.

Matthew 11:16-30

16“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”