Because this is Thanksgiving Sunday, the Sunday before the national holiday, I thought it would be appropriate that we examine that familiar phrase, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it," from the 118th psalm, which we recited this morning.

Let me begin by suggesting a thesis. And that is, that we have something to do with determining the quality of the day. Now I have some reluctance to say that because I know that there are things that happen to us, forces outside of us over which we have no control. But I find that evidence intriguing for the thesis. For instance, I bet you know people that you would never ask, "How are you feeling?" because you know what they would say. You get an "organ recital" from them. They'll tell you about all their operations an…