Raise your hand if you remember Scrooge McDuck! I remember watching him in the original DuckTales series in the 80’s and 90’s, which to my memory was great. But I was a pre-teen at the time, so please don’t take my word for it!

Scrooge was famous for his signature dive into his ocean of gold coins. And, as a kid, I definitely thought that would be great! (To have, not to dive into, because - ouch!) I often day-dreamed about what I would buy if I had limitless wealth. Soooooo many MicroMachines (like HotWheels, only smaller).

I haven’t thought much about Scrooge for a long time. But he came back to mind recently as I’ve been pondering the question, "What makes us happy?"

It’s an eternal question. THE question that drives us daily, in fact. THE question that bubbles underneath nearly every conversation I have in my current line of work as a spiritual director. We are all searching for ultimate happiness—ultimate peace and satisfaction—even if we don’t realize that we are.

Why else do we work? Or what else do we hope to find if we learn to “slow down” correctly? What else keeps us from despairing in this world of sorrow if we don’t think we can find at least some kind of happiness?

Which is why I’m so struck by Jesus’ answer. “Blessed are the poor,” he says. And, “Blessed are those who mourn, and those who hunger and are persecuted.”

Say what now?

Let me be clear, to be blessed is greater than to be “happy” in this life. That is Jesus’ point.

Those who are poor, or mourn, or are persecuted for Christ in this life will “inherit the kingdom," says Jesus. Through St. Peter, he says: “Rejoice in your sufferings and trials! Rejoice that in sorrow you can trust that Jesus is guarding you. That he is keeping an inheritance for you that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1).

It’s a simple point: though we may suffer much in this life, God is for us. There is a bigger life, a more vibrant and wonderful life, waiting for us after this one. A life in which all will be made right, somehow. So we are blessed to live this life in the cruciform shape of Jesus’s life.

But it’s also a profound point. One that I cannot yet fully wrap my heart around. It’s a truth for faith. It’s a truth that gives hope, and a truth that prompts love.

Meister Eckhart has an interesting way of saying it that is worth pondering:

God cannot forsake his promises. And he has promised that all our sorrows shall be turned into joy. Surely, if I knew for certain that all my stones should be changed into gold, the more and the larger stones I had, the better I would be pleased.

How would my life look if I knew—if I trusted—that “all my sorrows will be turned into joy?” It’s an idea worth spending some time with… am I right?

Invitation to practice

Dear friend, I know that you are very likely carrying sorrow, anxiety, and suffering. It's so easy to feel shame or guilt around this. "If I were a better person or doing things better I would feel better, right? "

I want to assure you, just because you feel bad, doesn't mean you are bad. Sorrow, fear, and suffering are unavoidable in this broken world.

Today I want to invite you to two practices. First, freely lament to God. Find a quiet, private place, and pour out your complaints to Jesus. No need for filters, no need to second guess your words. Trust that he wants to hear you, that he will not be angry or impatient with you no matter what you say or how you say it. (You may prefer to pray with a Psalm of lament like Psalm 13, or Psalm 80)

Second, take some time to imagine your life in the resurrection. Perhaps read Revelation 21 and 22 and try to see yourself there as fully as possible. Imagine what it might look like, what it might smell and taste like, what it will feel like—especially to be hugged by Jesus! Allow the reality of the resurrection to settle into your body.

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