"the gigantic secret"

I thought a bit more on the "meditation for the party-goer," specifically the part about Jesus seeming to hide his joy. I imagine that he wasn't hiding it exactly, at least not in the sense of trying to intentionally hold it back. But I can see his joy being subdued or muted among other people. Because when Jesus encountered others, he also encountered their pain and confusion and distance from God, and his compassion for them—his "suffering with" them—would temper his joy, I imagine. How could he be completely full of the joy of God in the presence of his messed up, hurting friends?

I thought of that when I read this passage from A Prayer for Owen Meany (Owen has a screechy, "wrecked" voice, so everything he says is printed in capitals):

In our Scripture class, Owen said, "IT'S TRUE THAT THE DISCIPLES ARE STUPID—THEY NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS MEANS, THEY'RE A BUNCH OF BUNGLERS, THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD AS MUCH AS THEY WANT TO BELIEVE, AND THEY EVEN BETRAY JESUS. THE POINT IS, GOD DOESN'T LOVE US BECAUSE WE'RE SMART OR BECAUSE WE'RE GOOD. WE'RE STUPID AND WE'RE BAD AND GOD LOVES US ANYWAY—JESUS ALREADY TOLD THE DUMB-SHIT DISCIPLES WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, 'THE SON OF MAN WILL BE DELIVERED INTO THE HANDS OF MEN, AND THEY WILL KILL HIM...' REMEMBER? THAT WAS IN MARK, RIGHT?"

"Yes, but let's not say 'dumb-shit disciples' in class, Owen," Mr. Merrill said...

Even when they were happy and enthusiastic, the Jesus' followers were usually (at least partly) confused and misguided, as we are too. So I can see Jesus not being able to be completely joyful, except when alone with his Father. He couldn't ignore the always somewhat sad condition of those around him.

Are we able to let our joy be tempered by compassion in the same way?