To Rejoice is to Practice

(The following was written and submitted for an Advent devotional collection for Calvary Baptist Church of Denver under the theme, “How Does a Weary World Rejoice?)

“…whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.” –James 1:2-4

Is it just me, or does this scripture rub you the wrong way? How should we ever consider facing trials to be joy?! And doesn’t “testing” feel manipulative? I suppose it does if we think God is doing it. But “testing” isn’t coming from some puppet master kind of god. Simply being human is a test in and of itself, with God by our side, and with joy woven throughout. 

Yet trying to find this joy in difficult times feels arduous. That’s why I love the word “rejoice”. Broken down, “re” means “to do again”. This implies that to rejoice, especially when our personal worlds and the whole world is weary, is to realize that doing so won’t negate the weariness we are experiencing, and that we are practicing something, which requires repetition. It gives us space to breathe, even if immediately afterward we find ourselves right back in the depths of despair. But this is the point- to rejoice is about endurance, as James says. And the joy James is talking about isn’t a fleeting joy we feel in circumstances of our lives that are good. It is a secure and constant joy we can glimpse in the midst of trials. It’s okay if we don’t see it or feel it all of the time, the way toxic positivity shames us to believe otherwise. True joy invites us to purposeful repetition, which is why seasons, cycles, rituals, and other healthy habits of faith are so meaningful and helpful. To re-joice allows us to brush gently, even if just for a brief, but sacred moment with the Divine, knowing each time we do, the permanence of True Joy reveals its ubiquitousness.

Musician and writer, Nick Cave describes grief as follows: “The person who is grieving is the closest they will ever be to the fundamental essence of things.” This is an awe-filled statement to ponder, and it mirrors this scripture. We are experiencing the depths of things in our despair. When we practice joy, when we rejoice, which is to re-joy, again and again, we reposition ourselves in the disorienting weariness, opening ourselves to a Holy Balm, and new awareness. Rejoicing is not some antidote to despair; it adds sweetness to the bitterness, hence the word, bittersweet! So rejoice: a practice of endurance that sustains us toward healing, justice, transformation, and peace. And as James implies, there is wholeness (and wellness) from a Source that reminds us that truly, we lack nothing. It still boggles my mind, but my heart can rejoice even so.

Prayer: Mysterious God, give us courage to seek true joy in ways that do not dismiss pain, but honor our grief and the suffering of the world, allowing such Joy to cultivate hope, every time we practice it. Amen