Jesus came in to the world to bring JOY.
I love watching videos of armed services personnel as they make surprise returns to their families. I could watch them ALL DAY. The unrestrained tears of joy, collapsing into the arms of the person they have longed-for—it’s just the best.
Do you know why tears come in joyful moments? The medical profession tells us why:
“The proteins found in emotional tears are hormones that build up to very high levels when the body withstands emotional stress. If the chemicals associated with stress did not discharge at all, they would build up to toxic levels that could weaken the body's immune system and other biological processes.” (Bryn Mawr University study)
So, those joyful tears are a release. Perhaps a longing or tension has been silently building up inside of us for a long time, stuffed into a manageable container of our own making. Then, when we encounter the one we have longed for, that container bursts open, and we can no longer control the burden of that tremendous tension—and the tears just flood out.
During this time of year, we get a glimpse of what we long for: a welcome home, acceptance and belonging, the erasure of shame—and the presence of the One who brings all those transformations into being. The coming of Christ as a frail infant is a mirror of ourselves because our frailty is the reason for His coming. It seems impossible that He would be with us. But when we see that He is, that reunion shatters our uncontrollable tension, and in its place, He pours out joy.
My favorite Christmas choir anthem, which always brings a release of joy-filled tears for me, is “What Sweeter Music” by John Rutter, with the text by 17th century British poet Robert Herrick. All the words in this poem reveal the deep joy of dark into light, cold to warm, barren to abundant. (John Rutter’s What Sweeter Music)
May the joy of Christ’s presence surround you and bear you gently, now and always.