Joy Blooms in the Desert

An Advent Reflection for Blue Christmas

As the Advent wreath moves from Hope to Peace and now to Joy, I find myself reflecting on how layered this season truly is. Joy in Advent is not a glittery emotion or a forced smile. It is something quieter and sturdier, like a lantern held against the wind. Isaiah 35 tells us that even the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad. That kind of joy doesn’t ignore sorrow. It grows right in the middle of it.

And if I’m being honest, this year my own spirit feels more blue than bright. Pastors carry the same burdens everyone else does. Loss. Worry. The ache of memories. The unanswered questions of the heart. Even Jesus carried those weights. The shortest verse in all of Scripture tells the truth of that: “Jesus wept.” He wept over the death of His friend, even knowing resurrection was moments away. Because grief is sometimes too heavy for explanations. Too deep for tidy answers. There is a world of meaning in those two small words. Most of us know exactly what that language feels like.

So while the Week of Joy might seem like a strange time to hold a Blue Christmas service, I think it may be the right time. Scripture never treats joy and grief as opposites. They often appear side by side, woven together.

Isaiah tells us that God strengthens weak hands and feeble knees. James urges us to strengthen our hearts as we wait on God’s healing work. John the Baptist, sitting in a prison cell in Matthew 11, wonders aloud if Jesus really is the One. Even the greatest among prophets has days of discouragement and doubt. Jesus doesn’t rebuke him. Instead He points to signs of life: the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the poor receiving good news.

Joy in Scripture is not the denial of sorrow, it doesn't ignore doubt, nor does it demand our perfection. Joy is God’s nearness inside every human experience and condition.

That is why our Blue Christmas Service belongs here, in this week. Joy is not something we pretend. It is something God grows in the soil of our real lives. It is the courage to name our grief and still believe God is with us. It is knowing that missing someone is not a lack of faith but a sign of great love.

As Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, we grieve—but not without hope. Our hope is not loud. But it is steady.

Blue Christmas Service

This Sunday at 6 PM

The Reformed Church — 106 North Chestnut, Scottdale

This service is a gentle space to breathe, to remember, and to be held by a community that understands the weight of this season. If you wish, you may bring or send a photo of someone you are remembering. We will have a quiet projection of names and images during part of the service. (email images or names by Dec. 10 to pastor@lovestrucc.org) This is completely optional. Your loved one will be honored whether or not you choose to use an image.

Come as you are. Truly. There is no performance here. Just space. And God.

Dwelling in the Word for the Week

If you’d like to sit with Scripture in a more prayerful way this week, here is a simple guide I use myself:

Listen: Read the passage slowly. Notice the word or phrase that catches your attention.

Reflect: Sit with it. Why might this be the word God is offering you today?

Respond: Pray briefly :“God, let this Word settle into me.”

This Week’s Scriptures

• Isaiah 35:1-10

• James 5:7-10

• Matthew 11:2-11

  
  

May God meet you gently in this week of Joy. May the deserts of your life bloom in ways you did not expect. And may the One who wept also walk beside you, carrying whatever you cannot carry alone.

Brightest Blessings - Rev. TJ