09/24/2021 – Are we surprised by joy or by sorrow? (from “Here and Now” by Henri Nouwen) // 2 of 2 – Henri’s answer to the question he posed – see 09/19/2021 original post.//
Again, this is quoted from Chapter 2 – “Joy” in his 1994 book: “Here and Now.” I am surprised by Henri’s answer on page 32 as follows: “The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected. No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more real than all the darkness, that God’s truth is more powerful than all the human lies, that God’s love is stronger than death. “I wouldn’t think it should be a surprise at all to a Christian that has the indwelling Holy Spirit within him or her. But looking at our present day, I think I can see where Henri is coming from. We are surprised that the Christian can suffer, even be martyred here in this evil world, and we don’t have to wait for the 2nd coming to be overwhelmed with the joy in that victory, even when the world perceives it as a defeat. Of course, that terrible misconception will immediately be removed at the 2nd coming.
But I would like to bring in “Life is Beautiful” the movie I recommended on the post 09/20/2021. The Guido Orefice main character overcame this prolonged persecution and depravation, by God’s grace, so that his joy could not remove the physical reality in this world, but it certainly defeated the evil over and over again, on a daily basis. A Christian warrior’s tool in that it was motivating , and convicting at the same time. If Guido can overcome under such circustances, what am I doing for the body of Christ in relatively privileged circumstances?
Here is Henri’s conclusion to the “Joy” Chapter. Once again, I encourage y’all to order the book. And take a look at Henri Nouwen’s Christian warrior walk. He is missed but I look forward to meeting him in heaven. Once again, I could summarize and paraphrase Henri’s eloquent presentation, but what would be the point? So let’s get started.
Section Four: Surprised by Joy
“Are we surprised by joy or by sorrow? The world in which we live wants to surprise us by sorrow. Newspapers keep telling us about traffic accidents, murders, conflicts, between individuals, groups, and nations, and the television fills our minds with images of hatred, violence, and destruction. And we say to one another: “Did you hear that, did you see that… isn’t it terrible…, who can believe it?” Indeed it seems that the powers of darkness want to continue to surprise us with human sorrow. But these surprises paralyze us and seduce us to an existence in which our main concern becomes survival in the midst of a sea of sorrows. By making us think about ourselves as survivors of a shipwreck, anxiously clinging to a piece of driftwood, we gradually accept the role of victims doomed by the cruel circumstances of our lives.
The great challenge of faith is to be surprised by joy. I remember sitting at a dinner table with friends discussing the economic depression of the country. We kept throwing out statistics that made us increasingly convinced that things could only get worse. The, suddenly, the four-year-old son of one of my friends opened the door, went to his father, and said, “Look, Daddy! Look! I found a little kitten in the yard… Look! …. Isn’t she cute?” While showing the kitten to his father, the little boy stroked the kitten with his hands and held it against his face. All at once everything changed. The little boy and his kitten became the center of attention. There were smiles, strokes, and many tender words. We were surprised by joy?
God became a little child in the midst of a violent world. Are we surprised by joy or do we keep saying: “How nice and sweet, but the reality is different, “What if the child reveals to us what is really real?”
Section Five: Joy and Laughter
Money and success do not make us joyful. In fact, many wealthy and successful people are also anxious, fearful , and often quite somber. In contrast, many others who are very poor laugh very easily and often show great joy.
Joy and laughter are the gifts of living in the presence of God and trusting that tomorrow is not worth worrying about. It always strikes me that rich people have much money, while poor people have much time. And when there is much time, life can be celebrated. There is no reason to romanticize poverty, but when I see the fears and the anxiety of many who have all the goods the world has to offer, I can understand Jesus’ words: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Money and success are not the problem; the problem is the absence of free, open time when God can be encountered in the present and life can be lifted up in its simple beauty and goodness.
Little children playing together show us the joy of just being together. One day when I was very busy interviewing an artist who I admire a lot, her five year old daughter said to me: “I made a birthday cake with sand. Now you have to come and pretend that you’re eating it and that you like it. That will be fun!” The mother smiled and said to me: “You’d better play with her before you talk to me. Maybe she has more to teach you than I have.”
The simple, direct joy of a small child reminds us that God seeks the places where there are smiles and laughter. Smiles and laughter open the doors to the kingdom. That’s why Jesus calls us to be like children.”
(Jimmy insert: This is biblical truth!; as if I should expect anything else from the messenger Henri Nouwen… Matthew 19 – 13-15: “Then were there brought unto him little children; that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said: Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”)
Section Six: No Victims
“To be surprised by joy is something quite different from naive optimism. Optimism is the attitude that makes us believe that things will be better tomorrow. An optimist says: The war will be over, your wounds will be healed, the depression will go away, the epidemic will be stopped… All will be better soon.” The optimist may be right or wrong, but, whether right or wrong, the optimist does not control the circumstances.
Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world. It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our lives. Joy is based on the spiritual knowledge that, while the world in which we live is shrouded in darkness, God has overcome the world. Jesus says it loudly and clearly: “In the world you will have troubles, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.”
The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected. No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more real than all the darkness, that God’s truth is more powerful than all the human lies, that God’s love is stronger than death.
The world lies in the power of the Evil One. Indeed, the powers of darkness rule the world. We should not be surprised when we see human suffering and pain all around us. But we should be surprised by joy every time we see that God, not the Evil One, has the last word. By entering into the world and confronting the Evil One with the fullness of Divine Goodness the way was opened for us to live in the world, no longer as victims, but as free men and women, guided, not by optimism, but by hope.”
Section Seven: The Fruit of Hope
“There is an intimate relationship between joy and hope. While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart.
Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope. When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God’s love within and around me.
We often speak about the “good old days,” but when we think critically about them and let go of our romanticizing memories, we might soon discover that , during those very days, we were doing a lot of worrying about our future.
When we trust profoundly that today is the day of the Lord and that tomorrow is safely hidden in God’s love, our faces can relax, and we can smile back at the One who smiles at us.
I remember once walking along the beach with a friend. We spoke intensely about our relationship, trying hard to explain ourselves to each other and to understand each other’s feelings. We were so preoccupied with our mutual struggle that we didn’t notice the magnificent sunset spreading a rich spectrum of color over the foam-capped waves breaking on the wide, silent beach.
Suddenly my friend exclaimed: “Look… look at the sun… look.” He put his arm around my shoulder, and together, we gazed at the shimmering ball of fire vanishing gradually below the horizon of the wide ocean.
At that moment, we both knew about hope and joy.”
Section Eight: Beyond Wishes
“Joy and hope are never separate. I have never met a hopeful person who was depressed or a joyful person who had lost hope. But hope is something other than wishes, and joy something other than happiness. Wishes and happiness generally refer to things or events. You wish that the weather will change or the war will end; you wish that you will get a new job, better pay, or a reward, and when you get what you wish, you are happy. But hope and joy are spiritual gifts rooted in an intimate relationship with the One who loves you with an everlasting love and who will always remain faithful to you. You hope in God and rejoice in God’s presence even when your many wishes are not realized and you are not very happy with the circumstances of your life.
Some of the most hopeful and joyful moments of my life were moments of great emotional and physical pain. It was precisely during the experience of rejection or abandonment that I was “forced” to cry out to God: “You are the only hope, you are the source of my joy.” When I could no longer cling to my normal supports I discovered that true support and real safety lie far beyond the structures of our world.
Often we have to come to the discovery that what we considered to be hope and joy were little more than quite selfish desires for success and rewards. Painful as this discovery may be, it can throw us right into the arms of the One who is the true source of all our hope and joy.”
Soli Deo Gloria!