Be Glad and Rejoice

When I looked out the window today, April 17—almost a month since the spring equinox—I saw a light layer of snow clinging to tree branches and roof shingles. It reminded me of a statement by Peter Gzowki: “We need spring, we need it desperately, and usually, we need it before God is willing to give it to us.”

Of course the mass readings today include this verse from Psalm 118: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.”

Most of us are more likely to rejoice at seeing snow at the beginning of winter, not a month into spring. Winter is when snow is supposed to appear, not when the tulips and dogwood trees are blooming and the bees are out seeking pollen. Many of us are grumbling about another gray day and the need to retrieve our sweaters from storage. And so, because the day isn’t progressing according to our own plans and preferences, we judge it as second rate.

The person who wrote Psalm 118 was an early advocate of the power of positive thinking. From the moment we awaken, we can’t say with certainty how the day will unfold; what we do know is that at the present moment, we are alive and God is with us, whether the day brings us joys or trials or a mixture of both. The divine fullness as revealed in Christ includes both peace and suffering; when we are receptive to both, we grow in fullness ourselves. Therefore, we can trust that every day we draw breath is held in God’s hands and is a cause for gladness, whatever it might bring.

Today a Facebook friend in South Dakota who experienced a much greater snowfall than we did here in Atchison posted a picture of an evergreen tree covered in snow. Someone commented, “Beautiful!”

Rejoicing in this day God has made, I can affirm yes—yes, it is.