March 25, 2026

Exasperation. Frustration. Sadness.

What does one do when one feels one of these feelings that arise from a sense of powerlessness? The Gospels tell us stories of Jesus feeling these emotions. Throwing his hands up in the air at the hardheadedness of his disciples. Decrying the temple system and overturning the tables. Lamenting over the state of Jerusalem.

Maybe the stew of all of the above makes us feel as though we are tossed upon the sea and battered by waves. Maybe underlying all three is the emotion of fear. We fear losing our lives. We fear losing that which gives our lives meaning. We fear that which takes us out of what I have called in a couple of sermons “the well-furnished rut.” Jesus’s words to the disciples on the boat before he calmed the storm were, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”

As a person of faith, it is hard for me to hear Jesus’s question. I want to respond, “I have faith and still feel frustrated.” Maybe I need to be like the man who said, “I believe, help my unbelief!”

How to help our frustration and our unbelief? Know that God is still present, suffering for us and suffering with us. Death is not the final answer. The powers and principalities of this world will not last forever. Putting these thoughts together can lead one to a place of hope, even in the midst of it all. And let us never stop loving our neighbor in the small and meaningful ways that build a non-fearful community.

Easter approaches…

Rev. Eric