75
years
Reflection
THE BRIGHT SADNESS A new understanding of how the sorrow of Lent and the joy of Easter are inextricably linked. By the Rev. Dr. Andrew Grosso
T
he seasons of Lent and Easter are intimately connected, so much so that we cannot understand one without the other. The meaning of each season so closely aligns with and depends on the other that we can’t fully experience either independently. In other words, observing Lent is not just a matter of gritting our teeth and getting through the slog of whatever temporary self-denials we impose on ourselves so that we can put those self-denials behind us when Easter arrives. Lent gives us an opportunity to learn something that’s essential to our experience of Easter, and understanding the meaning of Easter is likewise necessary for entering fully into the blessings of Lent. Our sisters and brothers in the Eastern Orthodox tradition have a word that describes the intimate connection between Lent and Easter. The word we translate as “Lent” comes from a Germanic word that
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THE ARCHANGEL | Spring 2022
simply means “spring season” or “lengthening of days.” The Orthodox, however, use the Greek word charmolypê to describe Lent, a word that can be variously translated as “bright sadness,” “joyful mourning,” or “bitter sweetness.” Part of what this term is intended to express is the way joy and sorrow inform one another in the life of faith. We tend to think of joy and sorrow as opposite ends of a spectrum, but the notion of charmolypê invites us to think about them as being in some way part and parcel of one another. The correlation between them is positive, not negative: we’re able to enter more fully into one by learning to enter more fully into the other. We find something similar to the notion of charmolypê described in the scriptures. In the letter to the Hebrews, for example, we are encouraged to “run with perseverance” the same course our Lord himself has run, a course that was
fraught with hardship but which ultimately led to great joy and glory (Heb 12.1-2). Similarly, in his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul suggests the “labor pains” of this life are the means whereby “the glory that is about to be revealed to us” is made manifest (Rom 12.1-2). The possibility of seeing joy and sorrow as being inextricably linked gives us a different perspective on both of them: joy is more than mere pleasure, and sorrow need not lead to despair. Joy, rather, has to do with the deep gladness and satisfaction that arises when we see the purpose and meaning of our lives fulfilled; joy is about consummation and completion. When we think of joy in these terms, we’re able to reconsider our experience of sorrow. Struggle and frustration and even suffering become occasions for a deeper level of engagement in the work necessary to bring about fulfillment and completion. Looking forward to the joy of consummation
