{"id":25398,"date":"2025-06-18T10:37:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=25398"},"modified":"2025-06-18T10:50:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:50:53","slug":"25398","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=25398","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Source of Your Joy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Before the Throne of God Above by Charitie Bancroft and Vikki Cook\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rrm9BEYHnPc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Mystic and theologian Howard Thurman (1899\u20131981) writes of faith as the most secure foundation for joy:<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some who are dependent upon the mood of others for their happiness\u2026. There are some whose joy is dependent upon circumstances\u2026. There are some who must win their joy against high odds, squeeze it out of the arid ground of their living or wrest it from the stubborn sadness of circumstance\u2026. There are still others who find their joy deep in the heart of their religious experience. <strong>It is not related to, dependent upon, or derived from, any circumstances or conditions in the midst of which they must live. It is a joy independent of all vicissitudes. <\/strong>There is a strange quality of awe in their joy, that is but a reflection of the deep calm water of the spirit out of which it comes. It is primarily a discovery of the soul, <strong>when God makes known [God\u2019s] presence, where there are no words, no outward song, only the Divine Movement. This is the joy that the world cannot give<\/strong>. This is the joy that keeps watch against all the emissaries of sadness of mind and weariness of soul. This is the joy that comforts and is the companion, as we walk even through the valley of the shadow of death.\u202f[1]\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Catholic priest Henri Nouwen (1932\u20131996) writes of the joy we experience through the love of God:<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joy is a gift that is there even when we are sorrowful, even when we are in pain, even when things are difficult in our lives. The joy that Jesus offers is a joy that exists in very, very difficult situations\u2026.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What we have to start sensing is that in the spiritual life, joy is embracing sorrow and happiness, pain and pleasure. It is deeper, fuller. It is more. It is something that remains with us. It is something of God that is very profound. It is something we can experience even when we are in touch with very painful things in our lives. If there is anything the church wants to teach us <strong>it is that the joy of God can be with us always\u2014in moments of sickness, in moments of health, in moments of success, in moments of failure, in moments of birth, in moments of death. The joy of God is never going to leave us\u2026.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we can face our own painful situation, we will discover that hidden in the pain is the treasure\u2014a joy that is there for us to experience here and now. It is very important that we get in touch with this. That is what the spiritual life\u2014the life with God\u2014is about. <strong>It is being in touch with that love that becomes joy in us\u2026. Underneath all our fluctuations is a deep solid divine stream that is called joy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cognitive Dissonance (Part 2)<\/strong><br><em>June 18, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday, we looked at how the religious leaders tried to reconcile their strongly held beliefs with compelling evidence that contradicted those beliefs. The Pharisees believed that blindness was a punishment from God for sin and that anyone who violated the Sabbath by working was both a lawbreaker and a sinner and therefore not from God. And yet, in John 9, they are confronted by two troubling facts. First, a man born blind had his sight miraculously restored by Jesus, and Jesus performed this healing on a Sabbath by mixing his saliva with dirt and wiping the mud on the man&#8217;s eyes\u2014a clear and flagrant violation of their interpretation of the law forbidding any work on the Sabbath. The conflict between these facts and their beliefs is what psychologists call &#8220;cognitive dissonance.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To resolve this cognitive dissonance, the religious leaders had two options. They could either rethink their strongly held beliefs or they could reject the evidence that challenged them. <strong>Valuing their certainty more than the truth, the Pharisees chose the latter option. <\/strong>Consistent with what research has found about how most people respond to cognitive dissonance, first, the religious leaders denied the evidence as fake. They said the man wasn&#8217;t actually born blind. The whole thing was &#8220;fake news.&#8221; When that didn&#8217;t work, they tried to discredit the messenger. Rather than dealing with the evidence, they simply called the blind man an uneducated sinner who couldn&#8217;t be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers have found that <strong>when\u00a0<em>denying<\/em>\u00a0the evidence and\u00a0<em>discrediting<\/em>\u00a0the messenger isn&#8217;t enough, we will try one last desperate measure to avoid cognitive dissonance\u2014<em>distance<\/em>. In John 9, the Pharisees do this by banishing the blind man<\/strong>. Verse 34 says, &#8220;They threw him out.&#8221; The language here is more technical. It means the man was excommunicated from the synagogue community. Not only was he barred from joining others for worship, but the other Jews were forbidden from engaging with him. He was to be considered an outcast, a heretic, and no better than an unbeliever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The religious leaders did not take this drastic action because the man had done anything illegal or sinful, but simply because he represented a threat to the certainty of their theology and authority. As long as he was part of the synagogue and shared his story of behind healed by Jesus on the Sabbath, he would cause others to question the correctness of the leaders&#8217; teaching and interpretation of Scripture. The blind man was what psychologists call a<strong> &#8220;carrier of dissonance.&#8221;<\/strong> And if his story could not be\u00a0<em>denied<\/em>, and if his credibility could not be\u00a0<em>destroyed<\/em>, then the only option left for the religious leaders was to put as much\u00a0<em>distance<\/em>\u00a0between themselves and the source of the dissonance. Sociologist Peter Berger describes it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;People try to avoid cognitive dissonance. <strong>The only way to avoid it, however, is to avoid the &#8216;carriers&#8217; of dissonance, both non-human and human<\/strong>. Thus individuals who hold political position X will avoid reading newspaper articles that tend to support position Y. By the same token, these individuals will avoid conversations with Y-ists but seek out X-ists as conversation partners. When people have a strong personal investment in a particular definition of reality\u2014such as strongly held religious or political positions, or convictions that relate directly to their way of life&#8230;, they will go to great lengths to set up both behavioral and cognitive defenses.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, we see this happening on both the individual and national levels. Increasingly, people will switch what groups they belong to, what church they attend, and even where they live, in order to be surrounded by like-minded people and avoid anyone who might challenge their beliefs. It&#8217;s why over the last 20 years red states have become redder and blue states have become bluer. Sociologists call it the &#8220;Big Sort.&#8221; Today, it&#8217;s increasingly rare to live near, work with, or worship beside someone who votes or thinks differently than you do. This polarization is driven by the same insecurity that motivated the Pharisees\u2014our deep desire to avoid the discomfort of cognitive dissonance. We don&#8217;t want to have the certainty of our beliefs challenged in any way, and if we can&#8217;t banish those we disagree with we will <strong>banish ourselves into a safe enclave of news and neighbors that will affirm what we\u00a0<em>want<\/em>\u00a0to hear even if it&#8217;s not what we\u00a0<em>need<\/em>\u00a0to hear<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Note: I&#8217;ve decided to keep all of John 9 as the Scripture reading as we examine this chapter. I encourage you to read or listen to the full chapter every day and internalize the story. By meditating on its themes, my hope is that you will come to see yourself in some of the characters, and ultimately be drawn closer to Christ.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>John 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.&nbsp;<sup>2&nbsp;<\/sup>His disciples asked him, \u201cRabbi,&nbsp;who sinned,&nbsp;this man&nbsp;or his parents,&nbsp;that he was born blind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>3&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cNeither this man nor his parents sinned,\u201d&nbsp;said Jesus,&nbsp;\u201cbut this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.&nbsp;<sup>4&nbsp;<\/sup>As long as it is day,&nbsp;we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.&nbsp;<sup>5&nbsp;<\/sup>While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>6&nbsp;<\/sup>After saying this, he spit&nbsp;on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man\u2019s eyes.&nbsp;<sup>7&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cGo,\u201d&nbsp;he told him,&nbsp;\u201cwash in the Pool of Siloam\u201d&nbsp;(this word means \u201cSent\u201d). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>8&nbsp;<\/sup>His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, \u201cIsn\u2019t this the same man who used to sit and beg?\u201d&nbsp;<sup>9&nbsp;<\/sup>Some claimed that he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Others said, \u201cNo, he only looks like him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he himself insisted, \u201cI am the man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>10&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cHow then were your eyes opened?\u201d they asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>11&nbsp;<\/sup>He replied, \u201cThe man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>12&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cWhere is this man?\u201d they asked him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Pharisees Investigate the Healing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>13&nbsp;<\/sup>They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.&nbsp;<sup>14&nbsp;<\/sup>Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man\u2019s eyes was a Sabbath.&nbsp;<sup>15&nbsp;<\/sup>Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.&nbsp;\u201cHe put mud on my eyes,\u201d the man replied, \u201cand I washed, and now I see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>16&nbsp;<\/sup>Some of the Pharisees said, \u201cThis man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But others asked, \u201cHow can a sinner perform such signs?\u201dSo they were divided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>17&nbsp;<\/sup>Then they turned again to the blind man, \u201cWhat have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The man replied, \u201cHe is a prophet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>18&nbsp;<\/sup>They&nbsp;still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man\u2019s parents.<sup>19&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cIs this your son?\u201d they asked. \u201cIs this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>20&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cWe know he is our son,\u201d the parents answered, \u201cand we know he was born blind.&nbsp;<sup>21&nbsp;<\/sup>But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don\u2019t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.\u201d&nbsp;<sup>22&nbsp;<\/sup>His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,&nbsp;who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out&nbsp;of the synagogue.&nbsp;<sup>23&nbsp;<\/sup>That was why his parents said, \u201cHe is of age; ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>24&nbsp;<\/sup>A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. \u201cGive glory to God by telling the truth,\u201d&nbsp;they said. \u201cWe know this man is a sinner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>25&nbsp;<\/sup>He replied, \u201cWhether he is a sinner or not, I don\u2019t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>26&nbsp;<\/sup>Then they asked him, \u201cWhat did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>27&nbsp;<\/sup>He answered, \u201cI have told you already&nbsp;and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>28&nbsp;<\/sup>Then they hurled insults at him and said, \u201cYou are this fellow\u2019s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!&nbsp;<sup>29&nbsp;<\/sup>We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don\u2019t even know where he comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>30&nbsp;<\/sup>The man answered, \u201cNow that is remarkable! You don\u2019t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.&nbsp;<sup>31&nbsp;<\/sup>We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.&nbsp;<sup>32&nbsp;<\/sup>Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.&nbsp;<sup>33&nbsp;<\/sup>If this man were not from God,&nbsp;he could do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>34&nbsp;<\/sup>To this they replied, \u201cYou were steeped in sin at birth;how dare you lecture us!\u201d And they threw him out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spiritual Blindness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>35&nbsp;<\/sup>Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said,&nbsp;\u201cDo you believe&nbsp;in the Son of Man?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>36&nbsp;<\/sup>\u201cWho is he, sir?\u201d the man asked. \u201cTell me so that I may believe in him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>37&nbsp;<\/sup>Jesus said,&nbsp;\u201cYou have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>38&nbsp;<\/sup>Then the man said, \u201cLord, I believe,\u201d and he worshiped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>39&nbsp;<\/sup>Jesus said,<sup>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%209&amp;version=NIV&amp;utm_source=With+God+Daily+Devotional+Subscription&amp;utm_campaign=38f5cde036-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_07_31_crying_from_the_depths_C&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_625949a448-38f5cde036-332601054&amp;mc_cid=38f5cde036&amp;mc_eid=f52fc38132#fen-NIV-26480a\">a<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;\u201cFor judgment&nbsp;I have come into this world,so that the blind will see&nbsp;and those who see will become blind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>40&nbsp;<\/sup>Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, \u201cWhat? Are we blind too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>41&nbsp;<\/sup>Jesus said,&nbsp;\u201cIf you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mystic and theologian Howard Thurman (1899\u20131981) writes of faith as the most secure foundation for joy:&nbsp; There are some who are dependent upon the mood of others for their happiness\u2026. There are some whose joy is dependent upon circumstances\u2026. There are some who must win their joy against high odds, squeeze it out of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25398"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25404,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25398\/revisions\/25404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}