December 20

Day 281: May It Be So!

It's curious how in the Bible, when it mentions a death, there may not be much detail given. It may not necessarily include the human side, the emotional side of relational loss. It's left to the reader to fill in the blanks.

Genesis 35 almost casually mentions that Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, died in childbirth. She dies while giving life to Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons. It reads almost like Jacob just kept moving.

Surely, he and their children had an emotional response to their loss? Surely, they paused to reflect, to mourn and remember? They did in fact set up a memorial over her grave, so it's not like they were totally heartless.

But, they didn't allow Rachel's death to deter them from continuing on to where God had directed Jacob to establish his home. Or at least it seems to read like that.

I've had a deepening sense that while we're all doing the Christmas thing right now, many of us are troubled. Discouragement has robbed many of us of advent joy. I wonder if some of us are silently suffering, with no one to see and fill in the blanks (?)

Some of us may be content to go through the motions, hoping to mask the discontent and sense of loss this year has brought. But, I sense a number of us are not really so self-aware as to realize how discouraged we have been and are.

Psychologists tell us that not everyone responds to pain and loss the same way. Some weep. Some rage. And many simply go numb. It is entirely possible to be outwardly celebratory, and inwardly grieving, all at the same time.

I write this in the early morning, before we (some of us actually will) gather as a church family, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. History's greatest example of hope for the nations, and promises fulfilled. God's act of redemption initiated.

And yet we may be tempted to simply go through the motions. Because it may feel like it's been so long since we truly celebrated anything. If we've been living on the ragged edge of despair (no hope), it's hard to suddenly turn a switch on.

If we have kids in our lives, we may be content to just do Christmas for them. As children seem to be more resilient than adults, the adults may be looking to ride in the kids' jet stream. At least for this week and next.

There are times when one cannot simply manufacture joy. We cannot re-read our circumstances. When trying to read between the lines, or fill in the blanks, we are prone to get it wrong.

We cannot invent joy, even Christmas joy on our own. We have to ask for it. It may be God's Christmas present to us this year is just that - joy. Joy in response to Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us.

And it may be our Lord knows we need this gift of newfound joy from Him, more than perhaps we ever have. May it be so!

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau