The Choice to Rejoice

"The world will end in joy, because it is a place of sorrow. When joy has come, the purpose of the world has gone. The world will end in laughter, because it is a place of tears. Where there is laughter, who can longer weep?" (A Course In Miracles, Manual for Teachers)

If you ever doubted for a moment that spiritual truth runs very deep, you haven't pondered Jesus' words about suffering and joy. In a singular passage Jesus says there will be many trials and tribulations in life and be of good cheer. I have heard and read these words countless times before, but the last time was the decisive stroke that split my heart open. I can't explain why in just that moment, I was so deeply moved by the significance of this juxtaposition of seeming opposites. Perhaps my ego was dozing and let its guard down momentarily, for in that instance these familiar words were transmuted from platitudinous utterances, to a portal into my own deeper spiritual understanding. As the depth of meaning reached my heart, I shuddered and felt the sure sign of profound truth - a tingle that ran down my arms.

Do you feel it too? Can you wrap your heart around the enormous significance of a spiritual reality that makes joy possible in the midst of suffering? Human perception scoffs at such a notion for it seems that the trials of life are the barriers to our enjoyment of life; that difficulty and joy are mutually exclusive.  Our hearts are sensitized to close and resist the tough stuff, to push back in the face of tribulation. Hardly an atmosphere for rejoicing. But there it is in the same breath, master of Life, Jesus who well knew about suffering, advocating joy in the midst of life's trials.  

What did Jesus know that allowed him to advocate a seemingly impossible response to difficulty? He knew that he was not a mere body. He knew that worry was counterproductive to faith and prosperity. He knew that anger and resentment and resistance only serve to separate us from the God moments we all seek. He knew his true essence was spiritual. He knew he was the light of the world. He made the same claim for you and me.  He talked about a Kingdom that had already come; a heavenly awareness that was accessible to all.  The difference between Jesus and us, that makes all the difference, is Jesus didn't just talk about the Kingdom within, he lived there. It was his moment to moment abiding place.  

When we live on the surface of life our capacity for enjoyment rises on the good news and falls with the bad news. Trials and tribulations knock us for a loop, and we see no way out until things get better.  But there is a dwelling place, an abiding place within us, beneath the appearances of life, where all is indeed well. This is how Jesus overcame the world. This is how we too can be in the world but not of it; how we can live in this world and still be happy.

Of course, all of us find ourselves at times saying "if this or that would happen, then I would feel happier!"    It's an easy trap to fall into for us humans and clearly it a journey that will not bring us home for the holidays.  The truth is in the reversal.  All of those stories about what keeps us from deep joy are, well, just stories.  Nothing can keep us from the goodness of God, from the joy that runs deep within us.  At the end of the day, it's about you and me trusting in the goodness of God, whether the appearances support our faith or not.  Hang in there long enough, and deep enough with your faith in the Presence, and your journey will bring you home, sweet home, for the holidays, and beyond.