The Hopes and Fears of All the Years: Day 15

An Introduction to Joy

“When we lose joy, we lose our way.”
— Wendell Berry

Today we have come to the third Sunday of Advent, which focuses on Joy. The Christmas story makes the bold insistence that joy is real and possible. In both the first century and the twenty-first century, that insistence can seem a little…naive, to say the least. However, year after year, Advent asks us to make space for the possibility of joy.

Our first assumption might be that the opposite of joy is sadness, but there are other candidates to consider. One polar opposite of joy is fear. That’s how the Gospel of Luke presents the Christmas story—as a message that casts out fear and makes space for joy. Over the next several days we will explore what joy might mean in the context of the first Christmas, and in our own experience of Christmas today.

Reflection:
How would you define joy?
What has your experience of joy been?’
What does the idea of joy and fear being opposites mean to you?