Somehow joy is much harder

Somehow joy is much harder to express than sadness. It seems that we have more words for sickness than for health, more for abnormal conditions than for normal conditions. Does this mean there is less joy in life than sadness? Perhaps. But it is also possible that joy is in fact a deeper, more intimate, more “normal” condition than sadness and pain, and therefore harder to articulate.

For Jesus, joy is clearly a deeper and more truthful state of life than sorrow. He promises joy as the sign of new life....

Jesus connects joy with the promise of seeing him again. In this sense, it is similar to the joy we experience when a dear friend returns after a long absence. But Jesus makes it clear that joy is more than that. It is ‘his own joy,’ flowing from the love he shares with his heavenly Father and leading to completion.

– from Lifesigns: Intimacy, Fecundity, and Ecstasy in Christian Perspective by Henri J.M. Nouwen

‍

‍