Fifth Day - Necessary Grief?

I'm a little burnt out on writing today, I had to put in 2-3 hours on mundane work-like or please let this get me work-like writing. You'll have to take my word for it, as it is all too boring to post here.

I did want to share something from yesterday's reading of Reliving The Passion.

What causes joy?
What transfigures you, you flaming disciple, you burning witness, with such a fusion of joy in the encounter?
This: not just that the Lord was dead, but that you grieved his death.

Wangerin contends that "it is the experience of genuine grief that prepares for joy" and that our experience of Easter cannot be complete if we begin with resurrection and work our way backward. Rather we must begin with the Passion of Christ, with all it's horror and pain, before we can truly inherit the joy of what is to come.

This goes back to some of my first musings--are we deliberately tried, are we purposefully made sorrowful? And is this the reason why? So that we can leave our grief to be more joyful than if we had never felt pain?  I have trouble with this. It makes me think of something my father would often say, "it's like hitting  yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop." Does this make sense as a way to live?

My little boy is just four, a truly delightful age, but in the mold of his parents he is probably too smart for his own good and has a will of iron. We went for a bike ride this weekend, or rather, a brisk walk for mom while the boy continued to master his balance bike. I decided we would try a mile long loop, his longest ride to date, and dangled the prospect of a path through the woods with a playground at the end as incentive for this adventure. I knew he would probably complain at some point about the length of the trip (he did) and that there would be at least a couple major wipeouts (there were), but I wanted him to learn that he could go the distance, learn to push hard and glide further than he had gone before. I also wanted to reinforce that he has to pay attention if he wants to avoid crashing his bike, but that if he does crash, it is not the end of the world.

Part of the problem I have with the Passion of Christ is that I can't imagine a loving father persecuting his son in such a way. But then if I believe that a scraped knee or a bruised arm is a worthwhile price for self-reliance, persistence and the will to get up and try again, then what is the worthwhile price for the salvation of the world?

I have a feeling this thread will run through my thoughts for some time in the coming weeks.