Dear Grateful Gatherers:

As you may guess, I have several clergy among my social media “friends”. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed several of them post: “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118.28). The meme usually appears in an early Sunday morning feed and seems like a gentle nudge towards church attendance. Just in case you were thinking about going out to brunch, remember you could come to church and pay attention to God for a bit before the mimosas. And while that may be their intent, I’m musing a bit more on the particularity of the day rather than the commended activity.   

A few years into my first call, The Reverend Claude Lewis reprimanded me for making a disparaging comment about some members of my then congregation. “Jonathan, you’ve got to preach to the people God gives you, not the ones you wish would come.” His words echo back to me, not because I have any disparaging thoughts about our congregation, but because of the particularity of seeing each day and every gathering as a gift. And not just any gift, but the one God has carefully curated to be used at this moment, reading the verse as: 

In the grand sequence of days, of all the days God could have made for us, this is the one God has chosen for us to live in today. Why not rejoice?

The verb translated rejoice (נָגִ֖ילָה) appears in the Qal imperfect, a cohortative form that does not have the force of direct command (REJOICE!), but a softer commendation, usually translated let us rejoice. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but rejoicing would be a pretty good way to address the day. God did, after all, gift you with this day; it may not the one you wanted, but it is the one God gave you.

For my 16th birthday I wanted a minibike. I’m quite confident I made that abundantly clear. So, when I got an AM/FM transistor radio, I was none too happy, a fact I made very clear to my parents. After a serious pout, my father took me aside for a talk. We didn’t debate the finer points of cost, but my father did point out I would be getting my driver’s license in a few days. He (accurately) predicted that a minibike would be ignored in favor of the opportunity to borrow the car. Still, his concern ran deeper.

“When someone gives you a gift,” he said, “they have done so because that’s what they wanted you to have. When you tell them you wanted something else, you’re telling them your want is more important that their thoughtfulness. The mature response is gratitude, not disgust.”

All this came rushing back to me as I considered yesterday’s low attendance. I made a snarky comment in worship that dismissed the choice of those who came. Communicating their presence was inadequate; I devalued their effort, their gift. I also insulted the choice made by others, who were most likely rejoicing in the day God had made, but not in a way that I approved. I apologize; I should have been rejoicing.

So, here’s to today! The one God made to be lived in right now. Rather than pout over its presumed inadequacy, consider rejoicing. The mature response is gratitude, not disgust.

Seeking to carpe diem rather than just carp, I remain,

With love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor