The Daily: Saturday October 25, 2025

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.   -Jesus (John 10:10)

This is our path, the path of Jesus
This is our way, the way of the Christ:
Fierce compassion and justice for all alike

Ten thousand names of the Holy
This is the one we know
Ten thousand paths of the faithful
This is the one we follow, follow.

-Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

Jesus and the Science of Wellbeing: PERMA and the Power of a Life Well-Lived

On Saturdays in this space, I'm going to attempt a deeper dive in an element of Sunday's message. this Sunday I mentioned Martin Seligman's mnemonic acronym for the necessities of wellbeing, PERMA.

We often think of Jesus as a teacher, healer, or prophet — but what if we also saw him as someone who models human flourishing? aPsychologist Martin Seligman’s work on wellbeing identifies five elements necessary for a full and meaningful life: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment — or PERMA.

What strikes me is how vividly each of these elements shows up in the life of Jesus. His example isn’t a list of “shoulds” but a way of being that integrates joy, connection, purpose, and impact — even in the midst of hardship.

P – Positive Emotion

Jesus was deeply in touch with joy, wonder, and gratitude. He delighted in lilies and sparrows, in children playing, in shared meals and good wine. His first public miracle — turning water into wine at a wedding — wasn’t about survival but celebration.
Positive emotion for Jesus wasn’t superficial happiness; it was a deep trust that life, at its core, is good and infused with divine abundance. His invitation — “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly” — is a call to live from that joy.

Reflection: Where do I see beauty and goodness in the ordinary? How might joy itself be a form of faith?

E – Engagement

Seligman describes engagement as those moments when we’re so absorbed in what we’re doing that we lose track of time — often called “flow.” Jesus modeled that kind of presence. Whether teaching, healing, praying, or resting, he gave his full attention. He was fully engaged in his calling and in each encounter — the woman at the well, the blind man by the road, the children who came running to him.

He didn’t multitask his ministry. He was where he was, wholly there.

Reflection: What activities draw me into that sense of flow? Where do I feel most alive and absorbed?

R – Relationships

Wellbeing is impossible in isolation. Jesus built his life around relationships of love and service — friends, disciples, strangers, even those who opposed him. He ate with outcasts, touched the untouchable, and built a community where everyone had a place. When asked what mattered most, he answered simply: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

His relationships weren’t just social; they were sacred — a reflection of the divine interconnection at the heart of creation.

Reflection: How am I nurturing meaningful connection — with others, with creation, with God?

M – Meaning

Meaning was the thread that ran through everything Jesus did.  His sense of purpose came from Spirit and from circumstance — he was grounded in divine call and deeply responsive to the world’s pain. He could look at a weary fisherman or a grieving mother and see vocation and worth. His “good news” was that every life has meaning and that no one is outside God’s story of renewal.

Reflection: What gives my life a sense of “why”? How might I align my days more closely with that purpose?

A – Accomplishment

Jesus didn’t measure success the way empire or culture does. He didn’t build monuments or accumulate wealth. His accomplishment was transformational — healing wounds, restoring dignity, empowering others to live with compassion and courage.
Even in apparent failure — a cross on a hill — he accomplished reconciliation, forgiveness, and new life.

His legacy wasn’t a résumé; it was a revolution of love.

Reflection: What do I hope my impact will be? What might accomplishment look like if defined by love and liberation?


Living PERMA the Jesus Way

Seligman’s PERMA model and the gospel story both remind us that wellbeing is not just about feeling good — it’s about being whole.
When we live with joy (P), presence (E), connection (R), purpose (M), and contribution (A), we reflect the divine image that Jesus embodied.

And maybe that’s the good news for our time — that faith and flourishing aren’t competing goals. They are, in the end, the same invitation: to live deeply, love fully, and trust that even in the midst of challenge, our lives can be filled with meaning.

Prayer:
Holy One, awaken us to the abundance already within and around us. Teach us to live with joy, to be fully present, to love deeply, and to find meaning in the work of our hands.
May our days reflect the life you came to bring. Amen.