Joy in a Time of Cynicism
For Meditation
“There is a shrewdness which, almost with pride, presumes to have special elemental knowledge of the shabby side of existence, that everything finally ends in wretchedness.”
Soren Kierkegaard
This quote by Kierkegaard reminds us to never underestimate the power cynicism has to reshape our fundamental vision of the world.
What makes cynicism so powerful is that it calls into question everything we value in life. It presents to us a world that is only broken and bent. It is a sort of self-imposed ignorance, an intentional blindness of the soul. It is a refusal to see the world for all it is and could be, in order to protect oneself from fear and disappointment. Cynicism requires us to see others without the eyes of God, without the possibility of redemption or renewal.
I wonder if this is why suffering and cynicism are often linked together in my life? Fear, emboldened by the flesh, gives rise to self-preservation at all costs. In that place, it is easy to surrender to the lie that wretchedness is all there is, all there ever will be.
In this way, cynicism becomes an enemy of the Gospel. It says the reach of grace ends here. Jesus’s power to transform the heart of others ends here. The potential for the Spirit to move in this situation ends here. This is how cynicism divests the world of the grace of God, by choking the seed of the Gospel before it ever takes root in us, or someone else.
In stark contrast to cynicism, Jesus envisions a future for his disciples that is marked by joy. According to the Scriptures, the very existence of joy points not to itself, but to something other, something beyond itself. Joy is the satisfaction that comes when we find that for which we have been looking.
In the mind of Jesus, joy is not incompatible with suffering. He acknowledges the “presentness” of our pain. And at the same time, he asks us to fix our hopes upon the promise of a joy deferred. For the followers of Jesus, joy is not an escape from our suffering, it is a promise to be found in the midst of our suffering.
How is this possible? It is possible only because Jesus himself is our joy. He is the thing we have always been looking for. Death cannot rob us of joy because the One who is our joy, has tasted death and come through the other side! And we will see him again one day. And after bringing us through our own deaths, he will welcome us into his resurrection life.
This is why, against the spirit of cynicism, Jesus asks us to see the world with the joy-stained eyes of God. The eyes of a savior who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame. So that we might experience a world where wretchedness ends, where pain subsides, and where suffering ceases. It is a world that is being unbent and unbroken— even now— by the power of the Gospel and the coming of the Kingdom of God. It is Jesus’ world. And that world will one day be overcome by a joy that never fades.
As you prepare for worship this week, contemplate the words of John 16:21-23. Hear Jesus, the one who is your joy, say to you, “I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice. No one will take your joy from you.”
Galatians 5:22–23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
John 16:16–22
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.