Joy and Sorrow
"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked." (Kahlil Gibran)
Dearly Beloveds,
On this Third Sunday of Advent, as we light the candle of joy, it seems fitting to share Kahlil Gibran’s poem, “On Joy and Sorrow” below.
Every time I read it, I am both comforted and confounded, reminded, yet again, of the truth. You can’t have one without the other.
In the painting above, we see Mary, certainly exhausted from having just given birth to Jesus. She rests her head on Joseph’s leg. They seem to be in a back alley of some sort, and Joseph sits on a stool, somber and contemplative. While the painting may not be what we immediately envision when we think of joy, I think the artist got it right with this one.
Joseph’s seriousness is juxtaposed with Jesus’ light. Mary’s exhaustion is met with Joseph’s steady thigh. Joy dances in the cracks of the ground and the breath of Mary’s deep sighs. Sorrow is there, too, asking, “What have we done? And how will we make it through?”
Joy and sorrow, delight and dread, praise and pain are all there with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, and we are wise to lean a little closer and stay a little longer to witness what goodness and love will come of them.
On this Third Sunday of Advent, let both the light and the dark lead you, beloveds.
Joy and sorrow, both, will be there at every turn to carry you through it all.
Amen.
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On Joy and Sorrow
Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
—On Joy and Sorrow from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
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