Joy in the Light

Advent 3: Joy

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, CSB).

You reveal the path of life to me;

in your presence is abundant joy;

at your right hand are eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11).

For the wellspring of life is with you.

By means of your light we see light (Psalm 36:9).

How can we define joy? It’s not happiness, although it can contain happy feelings. It’s not satisfaction nor contentment, although elements of each have a home there. C.S. Lewis called it “Sehnsucht”; the German word describing life longings or yearnings for something that leads to fulfillment. While hope (ἐλπίς) in a biblical sense is a confident expectation of something, joy (χαρά) appears as the thing accomplished: the Word was received (Matthew 13:20), the treasure found (Matthew 13:44), the news proclaimed (Luke 2:10), the sinner repentant (Luke 15:7), and the King worshiped (Matthew 2:10).

Perhaps, then, we have glimpses of joy here on earth: a wedding, a new baby, a child’s accomplishment, a goal achieved. But these tastes of joy are short lived because life in this temporal realm means nothing lasts forever. Maybe that’s the “Sehnsucht” Lewis…