Joyful Defiance
Death Does Not Win the Day
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
Sitting in the pew at her husband's funeral, author Anna Madsen heard the last verse of the great Reformation hymn: "Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The kingdom's ours forever!" Reflecting on this experience, Madsen realized that death takes victories when its power appears to be greater than life. And she defiantly refused to cede death any more wins: "Not my spirit, not my strength, not my joy, and certainly not those of my children." The challenge is to acknowledge death in its manifold forms and own one's indignation and grief, and yet transcend it so that even if we are angry, we do not become anger. This book names the tension between grief and hope, acknowledges the reality of both, and defines a path forward to a life of joyful defiance. That path runs through Holy Saturday, a day that has one foot in the fear, grief, and death of Good Friday while the other is in Easter, a day of hope, freedom, life, and joy. Christians are not immune from experiencing anxiety, anger, exhaustion, and grief--emotions and effects arising from personal and communal trauma, including the trauma of death. Yet, the accompanying angst and pain, while real, are not the last word for people of faith. This book is written particularly for advocates, caregivers, and those who suffer in any number of ways, among them chronic illness, chronic injustice, and chronic exhaustion. Despite facing grief, anger, fear, and fatigue, readers will be encouraged not just to cope but to embrace hope and joy again, and then to plow them back into the ground of the wider world for the sake of their neighbors.
Endorsements (9)
“In this book born from personal tragedy—the death of her spouse and life-changing injuries to her son—Anna Madsen offers a narrative of joy. She teaches us that in spite of death, and to spite death, joy does come to those with the courage to lament.”
“What do we believe about joy? What have we been taught about grief and lament? In Joyful Defiance, Anna Madsen helps us to rethink emotions that may seem to chafe against faith (or at least our ideas of it). Blending Scripture, theology, and personal experience, this book reminds us that, in the words of Martin Luther’s hymn ‘A Mighty Fortress,’ ‘though life be wrenched away,’ the reign of God is ours—defying death and deeply defining joy—forever.”
“In a world where grief is expediently packaged, lament is shrouded by righteous vindication, and joy has become an aspiration, Madsen invites us into an opportunity to heal and to hope. In these pages, you will find your voice, your lament, your joy. Then ready yourself—for joy will defiantly lead you onward.”
“Madsen speaks powerfully and inspirationally to lives upended by the coronavirus and current political and social upheaval, offering a master class in embodying joyful defiance amid all that threatens to undo us. Drawing from deep wells of Lutheran and liberation theologies as well as from the brutalizing grief of losing her husband and almost losing her young son in a 2004 car accident, Madsen testifies to the essential place of personal and communal lament within Christian life and practice. Learning from Madsen about not taking the beauty, grace, love, and joy for granted in our Holy Saturday existence is just the balm we need to face these uncertain days.”
“Anyone who has experienced thirst—dry-as-dust thirst—knows the joy of cold, refreshing water. And the joy is multiplied when one thirsty person leads another to the water. Anna Madsen’s words resonate with the anguish of thirst and the joy of thirst satisfied—and offer an invitation for anyone who knows thirst: Come and read.”
“I love Joyful Defiance—the book and the approach to life and faith Anna Madsen presents. She explores a common hurdle for Christians about what it is to be faithful: What does it mean for my relationship with God when I am in pain and questioning my suffering? We often think of the responsibilities of our faith, none more important than to believe. Dr. Madsen shows us there is more for us there than responsibilities: there is also freedom. God with us in our suffering gives us the freedom not just to name the many deaths our suffering harbors, but also to know that pain and death do not get the last word. That honor goes to life and joy, which are indeed real-er than death.”
“Life is saturated with cause for lament. Let us count the ways! How do we ground our lives in joy when reasons for lament are so palpable? Anna Madsen risks joyful defiance as a way of life, not an ephemeral feeling. This book invites readers to journey toward joy in Christ Jesus, deeper than passion’s agony and beyond death’s silence.”
“They cannot win the day.”
“Doch. Doch. Doch.”
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