Moving Forward - 18 February 2025

TUESDAY, February 18, Martin Luther

Psalm 100:1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.

When I was young, my grandmother made me memorize two psalms: Psalm 23 and Psalm 100. She didn’t tell me why, and I wasn’t stupid enough to ask, but over the years, I’ve been really grateful that she did. Because now, Psalm 100 is in my bones and reminds me that the fuel for difficult love—meaning love of enemies who promote or relish systemic injustice—and perseverance in the tedious fight for justice and equality can’t be served long term by sorrow or righteous anger. Bitterness or despair are likely to be the result.

But joy, that resilient and happy buoyancy stemming from current pleasures and remembered blessings, is better able to fuel the fire of that kind of love. Writers like Ross Gay, Adrienne Maree Brown, and Cole Arthur Riley say the same. It’s not that I don’t sometimes feel resentment and rage or impatience and grief, but the songs of my ancestors, the gladness of my elders even in the face of all they have seen, and the joy of our descendants make the words of this psalm real for me, especially that first verse.

MOVING FORWARD: What brings you joy?

PRAY for the Missionary Area of Macau (Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui)

Ps 97, 99, [100] * 94, [95] | Isaiah 63:7-14 | 1 Timothy 1:18—2:8 | Mark 11:12-26

(Source: Forward Day by Day Movement)