A Journey Through Advent: Day 18
Day 18
December 16, 2020
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Joy as a Weapon
Pastor Kelsey Lewis Vincent
Twenty-fourteen was a difficult year for me. I had just come home from my time on the mission field, where I witnessed and experienced some confusing interactions with God and with church people that caused me to reevaluate my faith and unpack my life’s calling bit by bit. We were having some pretty rough healthy problems in my family. I moved back in with my parents, got a desk job that wasn’t my calling, was in and out of a few unhealthy relationships. . . overall not a good year.
It feels like 2020 has been that kinda year on a global scale. I don’t need to list out all the ways it has been hard on so many people. Writing about joy during Advent of a supremely rough year feels like a difficult task when so many are suffering. The world doesn’t need butterflies, Care Bears and rainbows slapped like a sticker over the dumpster fire of a pandemic and economic catastrophe. The world needs joy in a way that is real and relevant to the suffering and the heartbroken, not just warm fuzzies to the privileged.
But during my rough 2014, I was given a book that helped my heart and mind tremendously. It was called Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg. The backstory is that Margaret, whose many bible studies I was familiar with, had just signed a book deal to write a book about Joy when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She wrote the book amidst chemotherapy, pain and side effects, and the very imminent reality that she might not make through the year. Her thesis throughout the book is that “Joy is a weapon we use to fight life’s battles.” Through her transparency we see that joy is so much more than whimsy, or silliness, or rose-tinted glasses used to shut out reality. Joy is the companion of grief and provides us with the energy to celebrate in the midst of suffering.
So often we think of Joy as an end goal—something we feel when our relationships are good, our bank accounts are padded, our jobs secure, and our health optimal. But I have come to learn that Joy is not the reward we get for winning the battle, it’s the weapon that gets us through it. Defiant Joy and whatever that may look like—dancing in the car, laughing with a family member, finding humor in dark and heavy situations—this is medicine for a weary soul.
So while your holiday plans may not be filled with as much travel or tradition as other years, my prayer for you is that you would choose to celebrate in new ways. Bake cookies for a neighbor or have a video call with a loved one just to remind them of your love. Make intentional time to feel the Joy of Christ and the promise of God’s incarnational, abiding love for us.
In this way, God sustains our spirits until we reach sunnier days.
About a Journey Through Advent
This year is unprecedented in its challenges to our global, national, and local communities, let alone the challenges to our own church community and personal spiritual growth. And yet, the rhythm of the church calendar continues to hold us in a life-giving refrain: hope is alive!
This series of devotional readings, scripture readings, and prayers is designed to give you an opportunity to pause and reflect on the hope, peace, joy, and love that the Advent season brings.
We challenge you to set aside time each day to read, reflect, and pray through these offerings presented by our pastoral staff.
May you find encouragement in the remarkable hope this season provides us!