Rejoice in that Day

We are familiar with the Beatitudes, Matthew’s version of these sayings from Jesus. We aren’t as well versed in the Sermon on the Plain, which is our text for this week. There is some overlap between the two, of course, but there are also some significant differences. We tend to turn to these sayings for comfort, to find blessings in our everyday life. Certainly, we can still do that. But there is more in these words, and some of it is a little hard to take. “Rejoice in that day,” Jesus says, not about good things that happen, but about suffering, about being hated, about being rejected. This is not something we want to feel joy about. So, what is the invitation that Jesus issues here and how do we practice that as we worship?

This is about trusting in faith and living that faith in community. We don’t rejoice because someone has hurt us, but we rejoice because we have a community that can help us heal from the hurt. We have relationships that can insulate us from the suffering that any of us might encounter living in the world. In worship, then, we can celebrate that community of support and encouragement. We give thanks for one another and the way we have been enfolded into a loving environment that helps shape our identity as an antidote to the identity we sometimes encounter in the world.

During a time of passing the peace (if your community does that), consider including a time of saying “thank you” to people in the community who have supported you. Say “thank you” to those who see you as the child of God that you are, rather than a label or a category. Sharing gratitude can foster even more manifestations of support. That is how we grow as a congregation. We are challenged to be more supportive and inclusive.

How can the rejoicing we do in our faith and in our supportive community reach beyond the walls of the church? Our prayers can include those who are not yet a part of the church but need advocates and encouragers. Our songs can remind us that there is a world that is loved by God and in need of a clear witness of hope and transformation. It can be energizing to hear a call to mission once more.

We can also create space for those who are hurting today to find healing and hope among us. Some who will gather with you have been wounded and need to feel that support. We can pray with and pray over. We could have a time of anointing, and let individuals come and know the love and support of the Spirit and the church. The joy that we seek is not in the hurt that has come from the world or from the church itself but in the faith that sustains and comforts and in the community that is the source of healing and hope.

Remember, in this part of the series, we are looking to the future, to who we are becoming. So, it might be true that right now, we are not an instrument of healing; we have not been as supportive of marginalized people as we could be. But we are casting a vision of who we can be or who we are called to be. We cannot ignore who we have been, but we can claim a brighter future, a future filled with rejoicing.