Rejoice, Y’all

One of the best habits that we have had in the church for hundreds of years is the set of phrases, ​“The Lord be with you. And also with you.” We say these phrases in our worship services to keep in mind that we are gathered here as a community together. You and I have been grafted on to the Jewish roots of Christ’s first disciples. We get to share in the understandings of the people of God who know Who our God is, the great ​“I am,” the LORD, the King of the Universe.

If this is the sort of God we have, then we certainly have nothing to fear. That is why Paul can say, ​“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Some of you might be thinking, ​“I just can’t rejoice all the time.” But let me remind you that this practice is not one

you have to do all by yourself, though when you yourself are able to rejoice, it will be enormously beneficial.

It would be better for us if we would express the original Greek in the colloquial, ​“Rejoice, y’all.” Our English language doesn’t convey the plurality of the verb. God is not commanding, ​“Rejoice as an individual;” God is urging, ​“Rejoice as a people.” We rejoice together.

One of the reasons we need to gather for worship is because our own expressions of thanks are too shallow, too flimsy. We need the whole Body of the people of God. If I’m ill and can’t remember what the joy of the Gospel is, you can remember for me; you can stand next to me and sing these wonderful hymns of the faith and remind me of what our God is like.

We gather together, and we are helped by each other to do this rejoicing, to do this thanksgiving, because we are part of a people. We have lost our Jewish sense that we are God’s people, not persons— that we are part of a whole Body of people who remember together who God is. Since we know this God, our lives are changed.