Posted December 16, 2014
An Excerpt from The Heart of Henri Nouwen: His Words of Blessing
Edited by Rebecca Laird and Michael J. Christensen
The emphasis in this collection of excerpts from the books of Henri Nouwen is
upon this Christian teacher's manifold understandings of heart. Here is an
excerpt from Here and Now about the spiritual practice of joy.
"Joy is essential to spiritual life. Whatever we may think or say about God,
when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit. Jesus reveals
to us God's love so that his joy may become ours and that our joy may become
complete. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved
and that nothing -- sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or
even death -- can take that love away.
"Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy
can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God's love for us. We
are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be glad, but in the life of
a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together. That isn't easy to
understand, but when we think about some of our deepest life experiences, such
as being present at the birth of a child or the death of a friend, great sorrow
and great joy are often seen to be parts of the same experience. Often we
discover the joy in the midst of the sorrow. I remember the most painful times
of my life as times in which I became aware of a spiritual reality much larger
than myself, a reality that allowed me to live the pain with hope. I dare even
to say: 'My grief was a place where I found joy.' Still, nothing happens
automatically in the spiritual life. Joy does not simply happen to us. We have
to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the
knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety
and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us."
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