Lockdown Day 10: THE DIVINE GIFT OF DISILLUSIONMENT
Palm Sunday 2020 – not what we expected. But neither did the first “Palm Sunday” deliver on the expectations of the crowds. In Matthew 21:9 the expectations reach a tipping point when the crowds cover the streets in palm leaves and expectantly declare: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Only a few days later a deep destructive disillusionment sets in as the dopamine roller coaster hits a low: (Mark 15:13) “Crucify him!” they shouted. Same crowd, same Jesus – different expectations. How about you?
The disappointment of not being able to celebrate the biggest event on the Christian calendar with fellow-believers in a building that we call church, is not so much about COVID-19, but mainly the disillusionment of our own expectations. It seems like we would much rather celebrate with the crowds than embrace the cross. I love the meme that says: THE CHURCH IS NOT EMPTY, JUST DEPLOYED!
I recently came across an article by Jonathan Merritt: THE GIFT OF DISILLUSIONMENT – How the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry helps us trade in false hopes for a truer picture of God.
Merritt starts his article by referring to his own struggles with chronic pain disorders, many of them idiopathic in nature, and his own disillusionment in not receiving the healing he so desperately prayed for. Believing that God is sovereign, Merritt then embarks on a journey that he refers to as a “chronic pain journey that became a voyage of divine disappointments.”
“The choice is ours”, Merritt concludes in his article. “And who knows? If we decide to step off the dopamine roller coaster, maybe we’ll find ourselves at the foot of a cross, giving up all we have for the One who gave up everything for us.”
During the next 5 days we will explore the lessons that Merritt provides as follows:
Day 11: THE DOPAMINE ROLLER COASTER
Day 12: RISING EXPECTATIONS
Day 13: RESENTMENTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Day 14: FROM DISAPPOINTMENT TO DISILLUSIONMENT
Day 15: SHEDDING ILLUSIONS