One of the weirdest auction sales in history was held in Washington D.C., in 1926, where 150,000 patented models of old inventions were declared obsolete and placed on the auction block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a "bed-bug buster" or an "illuminated cat" that was designed to scare away mice. Then there was a device to prevent snoring. It consisted of a trumpet that reached from the mouth to the ear; and was designed to awaken the snorer and not the neighbors.

Needless to say, this auction was worth at least 150,000 laughs; but if we would look into this situation a little deeper, we would discover that these 150,000 old patent models also represent 150,000 broken dreams.  They represented a mountain of disappointments.

It may seem inappropriate to talk about broken dreams and disappointments this close to Christmas. After all, isn’t this the season to be jolly?  But it's not jolly for everybody, is it?  For those who have lost loved ones, this is the loneliest time of the year. And in a world that glorifies materialism, those who are struggling financially may find it to be most disappointing.

John the Baptist knew about disappointment. John is in prison now and he's looking for a sign - a sign that the long-awaited Messiah has really arrived. That's ironic, don't you think? John the Baptist is the one who first proclaimed his coming! But much has happened to John since we last saw him preaching and baptizing people in the wilderness, and now his heart is downcast.

You'll remember John's message was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." John wasn't afraid to proclaim his message to religious leaders and royalty alike. He wasn't even afraid to proclaim it to King Herod himself.  That was why he was in jail. This was not the King Herod who was the ruler at the time of the birth of Jesus; this was his son, Herod Antipas, who turned out to be worse than his father. Herod Antipas seduced and later married his brother's wife, but first he killed his brother. The nation was in shock. John the Baptist condemned the king's behaviour and was placed in prison. While in prison John realized that his career as a prophet, and his life, would soon be ended.

There was one thing that John wanted to know before he died. John wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt if Jesus was really the Messiah. Can you blame him? He had given everything he had – including, in a matter of days, his very life.  He wanted to know if it was all in vain?  Was it all an illusion, a dream?  In the wilderness John had believed Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God, but in the face of certain death he has some doubts. He wanted to know for sure. So he sent some of his followers to find Jesus and ask Him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

John the Baptist found himself in a disappointing predicament. Things were not working out like he had expected.  Sometimes that happens.  Disappointment.  Particularly at Christmas.  This is not an easy time of year. A few years ago there was a haunting country song that went like this, "If we make it through December...." Some of you know the meaning of those words: "If we make it through December...." It was December for John the Baptist. He was hurting in Herod's prison. Physically and emotionally. He was gripped with disappointment.

John Was Disappointed, First of all, Because He Had Different Expectations of What the Messiah Would Do.

What was he expecting?  Was he expecting the same kind of Messiah everyone else expected?  One who would drive out the hated Romans and establish the kingdom of God?  If so, John must have been wondering in prison why more wasn’t happening!  What is Jesus waiting for?  Why doesn’t He drive the Romans out?  OR was John just expecting more of a stern message of the law?  Was he waiting for the One coming with the winnowing fork to “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”?  Was John hearing about Jesus hanging out with sinners and drinking with them and preaching forgiveness when John felt that it was still time to preach the stern message of repentance?  Either way, he was disappointed because of faulty expectations.

Leo Buscalgia learned about that kind of disappointment as a teenager. He writes, "I remember the sudden appearance under my family's Christmas tree of the largest present I had ever hoped to see. It stood at least a foot taller than I and was twice as heavy; and wonder of wonders, it had my name on it!  For two whole weeks before Christmas, this present towered above all others and it defied any conventional attempts to learn of its contents before its time."

During those two weeks, he could think of nothing else but his present. He imagined all sorts of terrific presents. On Christmas Day his family gathered together to open presents. " Leo remembered: "How many times in the past two weeks I had anticipated this moment. Even as I was opening it, I remember experiencing a vague sense of disappointment - the great mystery was about to end and so would my soaring dreams." His present turned out to be a beautiful handmade desk his uncle had built. "By this time, nothing of this world could have satisfied my expectations. Who knows what I expected! But in that disappointment I learned a life lesson."

Sometimes we are disappointed, not because what we receive is bad, but because we have faulty expectations. Some of you might feel that life has somehow cheated you, but I guarantee you that if you lost everything you have right now, and then suddenly had it all restored, you would be exceedingly grateful! The problem is not what we have, but our expectations. John the Baptist expected the Messiah to come by storm, but that didn’t seem to be happening. It was not Jesus who was at fault, but John's expectations.  That is the first reason he was disappointed.

Secondly, John was Disappointed because He was Looking For All the Wrong Signs.

The followers of John the Baptist caught up with Jesus. They asked Jesus John's question, "Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?" Jesus answered, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." This was the evidence that God's kingdom was here! "Just look around," Jesus told John's followers, "and see what is happening!"

Centuries before, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about what would take place when the Messiah would arrive. Isaiah said, "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy." (Is.35:5-6). Those weren't the signs John was looking for.  He was looking for something more dramatic. Thunder and lightning!  Chaff burning!

Charles Kuralt, in his travels across North America, found what looked like a Christmas tree growing in the most unlikely place in the Rockies. "Trees need good soil and good weather and up here there's no soil and terrible weather," Kuralt notes.  "Nothing can live up here. Certainly not trees. That's why the tree is a kind of miracle.  On a barren stretch of Highway 50, without another tree in sight, grows this Juniper tree. Nobody remembers who put the first Christmas ornament on it.  But ever since, the tree has been redecorated each year. Nobody knows who does it.  But each year by Christmas Day, the tree has become a Christmas tree.”

The tree, which has no business growing there at all, has survived against all odds. People who live miles away know and love the tree. Just looking at it makes you think about how unexpected life on earth can be. The tree is so lonely and so brave that it seems to offer courage to those who pass it – and a message. It is the Christmas message: that there is life and hope even in a rough world."  Isaiah wrote, "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.” (Is.35:1)

But those aren't the kinds of signs that impress people. We want great big flashiness!  We want bling-bling. That's not God's way. God chooses to work in the little insignificant places of life - like a manger, a carpenter's shop and a cross.  With good news for the poor!

The Third Reason John Was Disappointed Was That He Didn't Give God Time.

John wanted action now! We can understand that, can't we, in light of his current situation? But God takes his own sweet time. After all, He has been working on this world for an eternity.  But His purpose is just as sure and His plan is just as unstoppable.

Lincoln Steffens remembers one Christmas while growing up when he wanted a pony more than anything. "I prayed and hoped I would get a pony," he wrote.  Christmas was coming. His parents played games with him, asking him what he wanted for Christmas. "All I want is a pony," he told them. "If I can't have a pony, give me nothing, nothing."

Christmas Day arrived and the children were up at 6:00 a.m. to open presents. "My sisters had knelt down, each by her pile of gifts; they were squealing with delight, till they looked up and saw me standing there in my nightgown with nothing.  Nothing."  The young boy didn't get the pony he wanted for Christmas. His sisters joined him in his agony, running back to their bedrooms crying. He refused to eat anything. He was too upset. He went out to the stable, and his mother came out to comfort him.  He noticed his father watching him from a window.  This was his worst Christmas ever - not one present!

Then he noticed a man riding a pony down the street, a pony with a brand new saddle, and it was a boy's saddle. The man was reading the house numbers. "He looked at our door and passed by," Lincoln remembered. That was the last straw. He flung himself on the ground and began crying uncontrollably. "Say, kid," the stranger asked, "do you know a boy named Lincoln Steffens?" "Yes," he sputtered through tears, "that's me." "Well," he said, "then this is your horse. I've been looking all over for you." In no time, the boy was riding down the street on his pony. To this day he still doesn't know if that was his best Christmas or his worst. You see, the pony was always coming.  It was Lincoln’s impatience and uncertainty that drove him to despair.

I've been there. Haven't you? God doesn't work according to our time schedule, but according to His. And sometimes He doesn't appear to be working at all. But He is. Certainly, he wasn't working according to John the Baptist's timetable.  But He was working. The fact that we celebrate the life of John the Baptist 2000 years later is proof that He was working.

How about you? Is your life filled with disappointments because you have unrealistic expectations?  Are you looking in all the wrong places to find your happiness?  Have you learned to wait upon the Lord?  Jesus reminds us of something in our text.  John the Baptist, the greatest prophet ever, was still “born of women” just like you and me.  And just like you and me, he was sinful.  He made mistakes.  But that Saviour came into the world to take his sins away.  And to take our sins away.  That is why Jesus came!  Let’s make sure we have that expectation straight!

The kindergarten teacher carefully lined up four little "cherubs" for the annual Christmas program.  Each carried a huge cut out letter. As they stood side by side the letters would spell "STAR." A slight mix-up occurred and those present in the church nearly fell out of their seats as the four little performers took their places… in reverse. They spelled out "RATS," not STAR. That's what happens when you get your expectations out of order!

Bethlehem teaches us about expectations and patience. God begins with a simple Babe and humble surroundings and He works slowly, surely. But He is at work! Let us not lose hope. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!   Amen.