Advent – A Week of Sundays – Joy in the Sorrow

Greetings Dear Reader,

I do not wish for anyone to think that I do not understand that for many there is sorrow during Advent.  People have needs.  People suffer loss.  Families struggle with so many difficulties.  There are those who are spending a first Christmas with the loss of a loved one.

There are days when it is hard to find joy in the journey.  It is, however, there if we allow it.  Even in my days of deepest loss or greatest pain there is the one thing that can provide joy.  It is I that must look for it.  It is I that must remember that in the darkest times that I must remember that we have joy always because there is hope.

One of the things that the Advent of Christ provides in buckets is hope.  The reconciliation of our relationship to God is anchored in this moment in time when Christ became like us.  We sorrow but not as those without hope.  Sorrow is part of the journey.  Sorrow is something unavoidable.  For me, however, my faith must inform that sorrow.  I can feel loss but not hopelessness. 

As I find joy in the season I must honestly see and have compassion for the loss and need of others. I must also realize that the Advent of Christ offers “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”  I must do what I can to lessen the loss and sorrow of others so that they can find hope.  In that hope joy can be found in the journey.

I do not pretend to think that everyone should “feel” joy at all times.  I care deeply for the genuine pain of need and loss especially during festive seasons of the year.  It is why compassion and generosity are so vital for my journey in following Christ.  If I forget the needs of others in my pursuit of joy then my joy will be tainted and my pursuit a vanity.

It is to mitigate sorrow that Christ comes to be with us.  It is to give hope that man is given this gift of the Son.  It is so that eventually our joy can be complete.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."