Come, Thou Unexpected Jesus

Come, thou unexpected Jesus!
Thought you’d be so meek and mild.
Never causing any trouble.
Nope! That’s not the Holy Child!

Although a savior for Israel was expected and hoped for, Jesus was, in a very real sense, unexpected. He did what proper society did not expect him to do – he ate with all sorts of disreputable people, he actually talked with women and let them change his mind about things, he cared about tax collectors. He railed against the religious authorities. He pushed against the status quo of his day and proclaimed a new and different way to be. And was willing to die for it. He valued compassion over religious law. He was a threat to the occupying forces of his homeland and to his own leaders as well. And he did all this out of an abundance of love.

That is what this Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Unexpected Jesus” is all about. (The song is designed, in a 3-verse format, to be used each week in Advent, and its middle verse is different each week). And for all you folks out there, who as children got guilt-tripped by “Away in A Manger” (“…but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes…”) – rejoice! Jesus probably did indeed cry a lot, probably drove his parents nuts on occasion, and as an adult continued to cause all kinds of trouble.

Good trouble.

The entire hymn is in a PDF document.