In life, we all have expectations. Some of us may have great expectations, some of us may have smaller expectations. But no matter what, we would have some form of expectation, according to the present situation. For example, as babies, we would have expectations of love, food and comfort from our parents, especially from our mother. When we do not seem to get such expectations, what do we do? We cry, hoping that our mother would meet our expectations by feeding or comforting us.
But sometimes, our expectations are not met, either partially or entirely. When that happens, what do we do? Some of us may just shrug off such unmet expectations and carry on our merry way, thinking that it is not that big a deal. Some of us may pout or throw a tantrum, hoping to get what we expect. On the other extreme, some of us may end up bitterly disappointed, like what happened to king Antiochus in today's reading. In the reading, we are told that king Antiochus threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out as he had planned. He had planned and achieved many things, and even planned to conquer the city of Elymais and sack its renowned riches. He had high expectations that all his plans would be fulfilled and that nothing could stop him. Unfortunately for king Anthiochus, his plans failed, and he suffered from deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that life was slipping away from him, in other words, he was dying. King Anthiochus' life of great worldly expectations, ended up in great disappointment.
As Christians, our expectations ought to be not of this world, but of the other world, in God's presence. If we focus only in fulfilling our expectations in this world, we may find ourselves bitterly disappointed, since we may never satisfy our expectations. May we come to realise what is true, lasting and worthwhile expectations, and strive to move towards such expectations, which won't result in a disappointment.
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