There is this misconception that Jesus was this serene, near-emotionless presence of calm in a sea of sin and anxiety. If you go back and read the Gospels, Jesus expresses all of the emotions that we feel regularly and then some. He feels love when people show deep faith. He occasionally tries to get away and rest, gets frustrated, and even indicates outrage and flips over some tables.

I think there is this misconception that we should strive to purge stress from the holiday season. Around this time of year, I get bombarded with tips to make it through the holidays with as much serenity as the emotionless Christ of our popular imagination. As well-intentioned as this advice may be, it ultimately causes me more stress because now I am failing the impossible task of not feeling pressure in an innately stressful time.

We believe that Jesus was completely human and completely divine. To rob Christ of his human emotions would be to deny some of his true nature and convince ourselves that we should avoid some feelings at all costs is denying our God-given humanity. Every emotion can be used for good or for evil. Love is not always good, which we can see in abusive relationships or the love of things over people. Anger is not always bad. Anger can give us the courage we need to stand up to a bully. Even though our culture often glorifies stress in unhealthy ways, sometimes stress is just part of life, and when managed, stress can help us rise to the occasion.

How could the holidays not be stressful? So many families pile into their minivans and go on pilgrimages to visit distant relatives. Children greeted by a tsunami of relatives may make them feel equal parts loved and overwhelmed. And then we ask them to sleep in unfamiliar rooms. So many fret over the roast and the decorations. At the same time, they try to avoid talking about politics with the one relative who doesn’t know what else to talk about. These things are stressful, but they are done out of love and well worth my stress, but the last thing I need is to feel anxiety about my stress. If I pretend it doesn’t exist, it will just hide deep in my soul and fester. For whatever reason, God has gifted us with stress, so if you find yourself feeling a bit overwhelmed this holiday season, take a deep breath, act compassionately, and regardless of how the roast turns out, take the time to let things go left undone and catch up with Aunt Sue.

Blessings,

Nick