I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem – built as a city that is bound firmly together.

To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,

as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”

For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

Psalm 122, A Song of Ascents. Of David

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

For most pilgrims, going to the house of the Lord, making the journey to Jerusalem, wasn’t an easy or casual thing. It involved lots of planning and a good amount of time and money (Perhaps, for the locals, it wasn’t quite as difficult – more like the issues locals have during peak tourist season.). I’m not sure glad would be how most were feeling. Determined, yes; expectant, perhaps; satisfied, or hoping for satisfaction, maybe. I could easily agree if the verse were along these lines: Once I got to the house of the Lord, I was glad I made the trip – an it-was-worth-it statement rather that a I’m-looking-forward-to-all-the-work-that’s-coming-as-well-as-the-end-result.

But then I think about times when I’ve traveled far to be with loved ones, devoting time and money for the chance to be together. Booking flights, renting cars, getting someone to take care of home and pets during my absence were things I did happily. The joy of being united with loved ones infused the necessary activities with its presence before it happened. Whatever needed to be done, I did gladly.

The same is true of the times I traveled to attend special services – weddings, baptisms, ordinations, even funerals. I was glad to do it because I could see where all the effort would bring me.

It makes me wonder if gladness just comes more easily when there’s a lot of work involved. Am I less able to be glad when it requires little effort? It’s counterintuitive, but just might be true.