Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. “Great Expectations” is this week’s podcast title. That “EHR” you see in parens stands for “Emotionally Healthy Relationships.” This Fall Faith Lutheran is leaning into our congregation’s vision and dream to become “closer to and more like Jesus.” Today’s message is the second in an eight-week preaching, devotional, and small group series based on the work of Pete and Geri Scazzero.

You can learn more about Faith and about Emotionally Healthy Relationships at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today. 

It starts and ends with love. That was the big idea in week one. The agape love of God is for us and what we were made for. The importance of quiet time with God, drinking deep from the well of God’s love so that we can love well. Love like this never feels like enough, yet the world is dying for love like this. 

Session Two in the Emotionally Healthy Relationships Course has to do with resisting the tendencies BOTH to think we know what other people are thinking AND that other people know what WE’RE thinking. Today we are going to learn tools to help us stop “mind-reading” and clarify expectations. Then we’ll look at how Jesus does it. And finally, I’ll give you some ways you can put some of this stuff into practice. We begin with a reading from Luke 18: 31-43.

Luke 18:31-43

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.