Jacques Lacan, a 20th-century psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, wrote that desire – an unavoidable part of the human experience – is not the same as need, and it can never be fulfilled. Obtaining the object for your desire will not satisfy you; instead, it will merely shine a light on the next thing you feel compelled to chase.
Hasn’t Christmas become the very kingdom of that desire? Advertisers invite us to long for material goods, promising a merry Christmas if only you purchase this toy, this purse, this gadget, this decoration. For weeks, we make lists of what we want and dash from store to store as we seek to fulfill the wants of our loved ones. We even teach our children to tell Santa what they want.
And yet we all know in our hearts that we won’t be satisfied by material trappings. The fact that we are unsatisfied by so much proves our longing for Christ. And our longing for the Christ child is not a swiftly satisfied desire, cast aside to make room for the next shiny new thing. No. The arrival of the Messiah is the only thing that can truly satisfy human desire.
This message is excerpted from “What are you longing for?” by Maggie Olson in the December 5, 2022, blog of the Women of the ELCA.
Copyright © 2024 Women of the ELCA. Inquiries for permission to reproduce should be directed to [email protected]. If you enjoy this resource, Donate Now.