Brittany M Tausen
Associate Professor of Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
In the liturgical rhythms of Advent, joy might seem like relatively low-hanging fruit. After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year. And yet, the wisdom of Advent invites us to contemplate a broader context and deeper meaning. Our Savior’s birth does not wait for relationships to mend, schedules to quiet, loved ones to heal, or wars to cease. Jesus arrives right in the messy middle of it all. The weary world rejoices.
Some of us are weary because of the frenetic pace of the season or the relentless pressure for everything to look and feel “perfect.” We struggle to stay present and delight in true connection, with God, with others, and with all of creation. Others of us are weary because of deeply painful present realities. We are struggling to understand why babies get sick and how families become divided. We are witnessing local and global atrocities and faithfully responding to our Christian call to ‘weep with those who weep’ (Romans 12:15). In these moments, our capacity to imagine a reality beyond the present is a divine mercy—a portal to joy. C.S. Lewis captures this notion when he writes, “All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be.[1]’”
True joy is not a passive emotion triggered by favorable circumstances, nor is it fleeting pleasure or manufactured cheer. It is a deeply rooted, expansive posture and practice, one that actively delights in God’s perineal goodness. Sometimes that goodness is glimpsed in the present moment, and we can be glad in it. At other times, it is grasped only by remembering the past or anticipating the future, choosing to rejoice because Jesus has come, and because all things will be made new.
May the good news and great joy of Christ Jesus’s birth breakthrough your weariness today as you remember and know God’s love that is, and was, and ever more shall be.
[1] C.S. Lewis. (1955). Surprised by Joy: The shape of my early life.
