I remember a cartoon; it showed a middle-aged man, pot-belly, frown on his face, wearing a T-shirt. Across the T-shirt was the message, "Please don't ask me to have a nice day."

I first saw that cartoon on our refrigerator door, placed there when our children were still living at home. They thought it captured their father. It probably did. I can identify with W. C. Fields, who said, "I start off each day with a smile, and get it over with."

I confess I don't like clichés, especially clichés like "Have a nice day," so that is why I was so surprised when I learned in Paul's letter to the Philippians that he uses something like a cliché, "Have a nice day," over and over again.

The word is "Rejoice." In Greek it is "Xairete." When it appeared in a letter back in those days it was just a fo…