For those who need to hear it, It’s OK to be Exasperated With, Frustrated By, and Not Understand this thing called Christianity, this thing called Faith, even this person called Jesus.
Angry. Sad. Frustrated. Bewildered. Let down. Downcast. These are honest emotions and honest reactions when the church, theology, the Bible, and God gives you disappointment, disillusionment, and discouragement.
This is the second lesson we learn from “Deconstructing Faith on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-34)
LESSON #2: It’s OK to be Exasperated and Confused.
These two disciples, who needed to walk away, are full of honest emotions and honest confusions.
Emotions:
They are sad, downcast, dejected (v. 17).
They are tense and terse.
When asked a question, they fire off, “Are you THE ONLY LIVING THING that hasn’t heard the news?” (v.18).
They had dashed hopes and failed expectations (v. 21).
These two disciples were experiencing honest emotions. They weren’t stuffing things, spiritually bypassing, or rationalizing them away.
Confusions:
And where did these honest emotions come from?
Well, they were followers of Jesus.
• And Jesus was “a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people” (v. 19).
• They had put all their eggs in the Jesus basket: “We were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel” (v. 21).
• But then “the chief priests and our rulers handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him” (v. 20).
NOT ONLY THAT!
But then they started hearing…
• crazy stories from a couple women that Jesus’ body is missing,
• that angels visited them,
• and others checked it out,
• and no one knows what is happening! (v. 22-24)
So, these disciples DON’T UNDERSTAND what is going on, they weren’t convinced of any “miracles”, and they are being HONEST about all the EMOTIONS this is stirring up.
On Your Road of Deconstruction
I don’t know the specific emotions you are feeling, or what specific reasons you have for feeling them.
But I do know that it is OK to feel those emotions. And it is OK to name all the things that you don’t understand.
As you walk this road of deconstruction, don’t do it alone. And be sure to talk about it. And ask you talk about it—be honest about the emotions, confusions, and lack of understanding.
And be specific.
These disciples saw Jesus as a might prophet who was going to save Israel. But instead he was killed.
Maybe you thought the Bible was God’s perfect Word that would perfectly guide your life. And then you found out it wasn’t.
Maybe you thought saving yourself for marriage would lead to a perfect and easy marriage. But now your marriage is hard and confusing.
Maybe you thought you had the perfect church that you could raise your kids in. But then you found out that it’s flawed and abusive.
So…
If you need to walk away, don’t walk alone (Lesson #1).
And be honest about your emotions and confusions.
[I’m going to spend the next two weeks drawing out short lessons from the Road to Emmaus about deconstructing faith. Pound the link to follow along, and to learn about “Deconstructing Faith Without Destroying it.”]