T(r)oy's Marbles
3.1 preparing for Christ's coming (joy)
We are in the midst of a series of reflections on differing themes. In week 1, we looked at the theme of hope as seen through the prophets. Week 2 explored trust as exemplified by Joseph and Mary. This week we look at joy as demonstrated by the shepherds.
To start this series of reflections at the beginning of week 1 on hope, click here.
To read a general introduction to Advent, click here.
To download a PDF of week 3 reflections on joy, click here
The Nature of Joy
Theirs is a story of joy from start to finish: it begins with an announcement concerning joy and concludes with joy’s expression. So, by looking deeply into the story of the shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth, we can make some observations about the nature of joy.
First of all, we see that joy is God’s proclamation and God’s possession. The angel announces joy because joy is what God wants to give. This fact seems unremarkable at first, but, upon further consideration, it has some powerful implications.
For starters, since joy finds its origin in God, joy pertains to the spirit.
To understand joy, then, we need to keep in mind that we consist of three dimensions: body, soul and spirit. We also need to keep in mind that human existence is moving towards some purpose, some end, like a great river running towards the ocean. With that in mind, we could liken the human condition to a moving river. The top of the river represents body, and, as one goes deeper, one swims through soul, and finally, at the deepest point, we bathe in spirit.
The Scripture hints at this truth when it describes prayer as “deep calling unto deep.” This concept sheds light on one of David’s perplexing prayers, which touches on the nature of joy. He writes: “Why are you downcast, O my soul?”
Question: Just who is doing the talking here? From where is this question coming? Naturally, from David’s own self. But, to be more exact, from a different part of himself. A deeper part. Here we see David’s spirit questioning his soul. And then, reading on, his spirit tells his soul what to do: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
From this we learn that the will is seated in the spirit. Though the soul inclines itself towards a particular action, the spirit’s will can supersede emotion, commanding us to follow a series of actions seated in a deeper part of ourselves. Just as a shift in the depths of a wide river can effect waves on the surface, so a willing spirit, immersed in joy, can bubble up, resulting in praise.
This tells us we can possess joy in spite of physical circumstances.
Further, as we move from one level to the other, we see that the nature of satisfied desire changes as the desire goes deeper. On the surface, we experience physical pleasure as physical desires are satisfied. In the soul, we experience happiness as emotional desires are satisfied. But, in the spirit, we experience joy, as spiritual desire finds its mate.
With this in mind, the mistake we often make is thinking that physical pleasure always produces spiritual joy. We often live life on the surface, rarely plumbing the depths of who we really are. Keep in mind: without the soul, the body has no life. And just as the life of the body is the soul, so the life of the soul is the spirit. The body takes its cues from the soul, while the soul takes its cues from the spirit. This is why David’s spirit tells his soul what to do, which, in turn, tells his body what to do: Praise God!
So, we can experience physical pleasure but that does not mean we are experiencing joy. Or, conversely, we can experience physical pain, but that does not mean we are devoid of joy (just ask any woman, who has experienced the pain of childbirth, if joy endures even in the midst of physical trauma).
This is why David, in another psalm, desires “truth in the inner parts” and “wisdom in the inmost place.” Later, he asks God to create in him a pure heart and to renew a steadfast spirit within him. And, still later, he asks God to restore joy to him. It is no mistake that, accompanied with that request, he asks God to grant him a willing spirit. From this we see that both joy and our will pertain to the spirit. But we also see another aspect.
What I’m talking about here stems from the fact that God desires wisdom in the inmost place. King David rightly connects this condition with joy.
So, in one sense, wisdom is joy and joy is wisdom. That’s because the “human river” not only has three depths to it, but also two sides. On the one side we are thinking beings, and on the other side we are feeling. Another way of putting it is that we are cognitive and affective. We’ve already noted the variance we experience as we move from body to spirit on the affective side: satisfaction of desire results in pleasure, happiness and joy, respectively. On the other side of the river, however, (the “cognitive” side) we move from sensation to knowledge to wisdom (as we move from body to soul to spirit). But, as we move from the surface of the river to the riverbed, we also discover that the river is rather like a bowl: the two “sides” (that is, the “thinking” and “feeling” sides) slope closer towards each other, the further down you go.
For example, on a physical level, we may apprehend truth about the world through the five senses, but the lessons we learn may or may not result in physical pleasure. If I stick my finger in an electrical socket, I will certainly learn something about electricity, but the experience will not be pleasant. That is because, on the surface level, our thinking and feeling sides seem far apart. But, as knowledge becomes wisdom, understanding penetrates to deeper levels and joy becomes a more certain outcome. This is one reason why the most joyful people in the world are often those who have experienced intense suffering. For wisdom comes through suffering, and wisdom’s edge lies deep in the heart (not far away from joy’s edge, precisely because of their mutual depth).
This is also why it is essential to possess purity in the inmost place in order to experience pure joy. David, having committed two gross sins (adultery and murder), realizes his need for cleansing in the inmost place. He makes an assumption that the anguish in his soul will only be brought to rest as his heart is restored. Of course, he is right.
With that, we turn back to Luke’s account of the angels announcing “good news of great joy” to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem. It’s interesting to see that this proclamation of joy is also attended by a proclamation that the baby to which they refer is the Savior. Restoration of the heart, atonement for sin, medicine for the wound: all are of one piece and all result in joy.
So, looking at the end of the shepherd’s story, it is no wonder that, having undergone a change in the inmost place (through having seen the Christ-child, the Savior), they “returned, glorifying and praising God.”
Following the next step in this chain of thoughts, then, we see that praise is like taking the noun “joy” and turning it into a verb. Literally, the word “rejoice” could be translated as “to joy.” Instead of saying “The shepherds praised God”, we could say “The shepherds joyed God. “
In that sense, joy is a little like love: it can be used as a noun and a verb. Certainly what we see here in Luke’s account confirms that.
And here we have another clue as to the nature of joy. The Bible says that “God is love.” Well, we could also say: “God is joy.” See, both love and joy are “ecstatic”. What I mean to say by this is that love is, by it’s nature, “out of itself.” (That’s what the word “ecstatic” literally means). Love ceases to be love unless it moves outward into another, desiring union with another. (Lust, by the way, is a consuming thing; its goal is the absorption of another into itself, like a great black hole).
And joy is like love: it moves outward, towards another, because of another. (This could be why many become aware of joy when they “fall in love”). And this is why we will be told, when we move to the other side of eternity, to “enter into the joy of the Lord.” For, to enter into God is to enter into love; and to enter into love is to enter into ecstasy. And to enter into ecstasy is to enter into joy. And, in fact, this “entering into” to which I refer is really more like a “leaping”. As we move out of ourself and leap into God, He leaps into us and imparts Himself to us. This is love and this is joy. And this is why “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” And this is why David, a shepherd himself, leapt and sang often. And, this is why we may suppose the Bethlehem shepherds leapt as well.
My prayer is that we will join them in that leaping .
*Note: many of these ideas were inspired by Peter Kreeft's book "Heaven".
To read the next reflection, click here.
teachings | Comments (0) | December 17, 2006