THE INVINCIBLE JOY
Joy, in spite of all, is a difficult subject to tackle…There is so much to sort out until you reach the source. So much interference to eliminate in order to hear the melody.And all the crutches to letgo- of in order to make headway.Nevertheless, experience shows that the prohibition can disappear at any moment as if by magic.
by Lytta Basset
Do we have the right to be happy? When joy happens on its own, there is no question asked: it’s a magical instant, a period of intense happiness, a rush of ‘joie de vivre’… There will always be time to declare, in retrospect, as though to convince oneself of the necessary return to normalcy. At any rate, it was too wonderful to last! But at the moment it happened, there was no wondering whether we had the right to experience the goodness of what was happening; it was given without notice, like those strong scents of the ocean as it washes over the sand dunes.
Yet great is the human capacity to snuff out feelings, including that of joy.We barely have any awareness of it, so ancient, sometimes, is the habit to shun such a feeling — as though it were an indecent guest.Why has anything that might resemble joy been such a taboo? Because of personal bonds of yesteryear: a father, a mother, a close relative in an unfortunate predicament, we would not allow ourselves… And the reflex has survived; the suffering of another perperson is still experienced as a prohibition to savour the joy of living. The conditioning has amplified over the years: how can one be happy when the world is in such a bad shape? Finally, the moment of bereavement strikes at close range, feeling of shame and guilt increase tenfold; if we give in to the joy that is happening,would that not mean loving the person less, betraying or abandoning that person?
The question is relatively clear. Shall we forever allow others to kidnap the joy that was destined for us? Would being happy when someone else doesn’t manage to be, constitute an insult to God Himself? To justify the repression of our feelings of joy, one could surely put forth the fact that not a single Gospel mentions the laughter or smile of Jesus.We are told of the wedding at Cana, of the numerous meals Jesus had with tax collectors, pharisees, intimate friends and crowds.We are told of parables filled with parties and banquets, of teachings about the joy of the Kingdom and of heavenly relationships among human beings, appreciating conviviality and the happiness of being together. But rare and discreet are the references to the personal expressions of his joy. (…) Take the Gospel of Mark which is the earliest one: strikingly, he never mentions the joy of Jesus. The only Gospel writer who does so several times is John, the one who terms himself as "the disciple Jesus loved." The phrase rather leads me to think that John felt especially loved by Jesus. It is in his writings that we find the most vibrant testimony of the words and gestures of love of the Master.
An unconditional love that was so overwhelming that John discovered in it a joy that no one could take away from him. Indeed, about to be arrested and tortured to death, Jesus said to his friends: Let my joy be in you and let your joy be perfect! (Jn 15:11) Is there not such a thing as paradoxical joy? Had not Jesus experienced and felt it, how could he have spoken such words, three times, a few hours before his arrest? In the same sense,many persons are sensitive to the joy of others, which is expressed in tears. They know by experience that weeping is not always a sign of unhappiness. When you shed tears of compassion,communion, intense communication, this is a very sweet joy that creates the most solid bond between two human beings.
If Jesus was “true man” and not only "true God," was He not bound to experience in some way the prohibition of joy? Was He not more than anyone aware of the misfortune of His fellow human beings? Did He not see all those He had not healed? (…) And yet, He exuded the "authority" of an eminently free being, happy to be beloved Son of His Father from whom He had come and to whom He was happily returning. The joy of Christ did not crush anyone. It constantly made room for others. It took the daily miracle of the encounter to discover the hidden gem of joy: anyone could sense its existence. (…)
As if to allow us to let joy in where no human being has had enough authority to release us from other people’s misfortune, Christ places joy at the heart of His teaching. Nine ways of being happy (Mt 5:3-12): something here is beginning to happen and will continue; it is anything but momentary joy. This kingdom is the Invisible. This "heavenly"" experience already lived by human beings opens the Beatitudes with a verb at the present tense:Yes, "the kingdom of heaven is theirs!" The deeper their thirst for justice becomes, the greater in them is the joy that rises from the encounter with others, whatever their situations of injustice may be.
How did Jesus go about lifting the prohibition of joy? By speaking from experience. (…) He Himself rejoiced at the sights of men and women experiencing in specific episodes of their daily life, this joy destined for every human being. Happy are the eyes that see what you see! (Lk 10: 23); Happy are those who listen to the Word of God and keep it! (Lk 11:28); Happy are those servants whom the Master, when He comes, finds watching! (Lk 12:37). A discreet way of saying, each time: if this happens to others, why not to you also?
Some will say: There are people whose lives are so utterly destroyed that God alone can lift the prohibition of joy. But what if they no longer believe in anyone and even less in an invisible God? In this case, what remains is the unpredictability of life.(…) One may no longer believe in God, but human beings remain, and there are many of them.No one knows who he or she will meet tomorrow or the next day, who will perhaps give their life a completely different turn if they only give-in to the encounter.
About the author:
Lytta Basset, Pastor of the
Reformed Church of Switzerland,
teaches theology at the University
of Lausanne. She is involved
in the Ecumenical movement.
MIC MISSION NEWS
JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH 2007