Wednesday - April 24, 2024

SCRIPTURE Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. WORDS OF HOPE Do you ever just open the Bible and let whatever passage appears speak to you? This practice is called bibliomancy. You may enter into this practice with a specific question or concern in your heart; or, you may come with an openness that simply desires that God fill your heart and mind with whatever God believes you need in that moment. Like many of us right now, the goings on in our country and in the world weigh heavy on my heart. Most days the only thing I feel I can do is pray. Recently I began my morning prayer time with my thoughts going in what seemed like a million different directions. I randomly opened my Bible to this, Psalm 36, from The Message.  The God-rebel tunes in to sedition— all ears, eager to sin. He has no regard for God, he stands insolent before him. He has smooth-talked himself into believing That his evil will never be noticed. Words gutter from his mouth, dishwater dirty. Can’t remember when he did anything decent. Every time he goes to bed, he fathers another evil plot. When he’s loose on the streets, nobody’s safe. He plays with fire and doesn’t care who gets burned. God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. How exquisite your love, O God! How eager we are to run under your wings, To eat our fill at the banquet you spread as you fill our tankards with Eden Spring water. You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light. Keep on loving your friends; do your work in welcoming hearts. Don’t let the bullies kick me around, the moral midgets slap me down. Send the upstarts sprawling flat on their faces in the mud. I am particularly drawn to the use of the word “God-rebel” instead of wicked. It cuts right to the implied actions of those who commit wicked deeds. When these actions are distilled down to the lowest common denominator, they all rebel against the “meteoric love of God.” Taken as a whole, this psalm yields a powerful and comforting message. Read it carefully, and then read it again. What words and phrases speak to you? What part of this psalm will make today easier for you to face? PRAYER Author of the Universe, open my eyes to see wonderful things in your Word! Guide me to the words I need so that I may grow in understanding, knowledge, and faith. Remind me that meditation on your words will bring peace to my days. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare

SCRIPTURE  Song of Solomon 2:11-12 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. WORDS OF HOPE How amazing is the arrival of Spring! Sometimes in Texas, it slips up on us. But this year we kept having several days of cold, even freezing weather almost up until the official beginning of Spring! I am blessed to volunteer at one of the most beautiful places to spend time in Spring (as confirmed by Southern Living magazine). Dallas Arboretum plants 500,000 bulbs of Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinth in such a way that they pop up weekly starting as soon as it is near Spring. And when the bulbs are spent, the amazing Azaleas start their amazing show of how amazing God’s beautiful Earth can be! I feel close to God every time I walk through the awesome 66 acres of the Arboretum! I am blessed to give tours of the DeGolyer home - the family who made the first 44 acres of the Arboretum their retirement home in 1940! I feel like the scripture above was written for such a time as Spring in Texas and the beauty of the gardens. Last month we broadened our horizons by doing a photo shoot for a beautiful high school senior young lady at Ft Worth Botanical Garden. I was amazed at their many arches heavy with Wisteria! The smell was incredible! I am so blessed to be able to see such amazing places that show me the most beautiful handiwork of God. How much must God loves us to shower us with so much beauty! As I drive from place to place this time of year, I am also blessed to see the Texas State flower- the spectacular Bluebonnet! It is such joy to see them growing on the roadside! One of my best friends likes to be a co-creator with God. She spends a lot of her spare time with her hands in God's soil. She refuses to let me call it dirt! She nurtures plants and grows flowers and herbs. She even brings plants back to life after it appears I have murdered them! She has a magic touch with plants! She prays as she has her hands in God's precious soil. She is my biggest prayer supporter! I hope you are blessed to get to see lovely flowers, even if it is a lone Iris or Rose in a garden near you or Bluebonnets along the roadside. AND I hope as you see flowers, you are conscious of the graciousness of God for allowing us to have such wonderful visions of nature to be a blessing in our life. PRAYER God of all good gifts, today we praise you for the glory of plants that bloom in such amazing beauty that makes our world such a wonderful place to live. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jan Nunn CoH Volunteer

SCRIPTURE  Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; and Mark 15:34 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? WORDS OF HOPE From the hardwood of the cross, Jesus recites the first line from Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? At the most immediate level, Jesus expresses profound human suffering. It’s abandonment, pain, and isolation. He experiences the depths of human despair, not just physical agony but spiritual desolation. Throughout history and even up to today, in places where conflict, hunger, and displacement overlap, Jesus makes the experience of despair and desolation his own. When Jesus cries out the opening line of Psalm 22, he is not only expressing his suffering—he is standing in solidarity with all who feel forsaken. In Sudan, Jesus bears company with those where civil war has displaced millions, famine is emerging and people are cut off from stability, food, and safety. In Gaza, Jesus shares the plight of those where 80% of the infrastructure is damaged and widespread food insecurity continues. On the streets of the wealthiest country on Earth, Jesus makes the experience his own with the 770,000 persons are in shelters or are unsheltered in the United States each night and in homes where 1 in 5 children are not properly nourished. In the Middle East, Jesus enters into the suffering of tens of millions at risk of hunger due to escalating war. In Lebanon, he stands with the 800,000 people forced from their homes, seeking shelter and safety. Reading Psalm 22 beyond verse 1, we read that the psalm begins in despair but moves toward trust and vindication, even joy. Simply saying the words of verse 1, those witnessing the crucifixion see Jesus pointing beyond suffering to ultimate deliverance. What appears as defeat is actually a part of God’s redemptive plan. This first verse of Psalm 22 holds together honesty and hope. It doesn’t sanitize suffering but anchors it within the larger story of trust and redemption. As you go to the cross on this Good Friday, witness not just the suffering of Christ on the cross, but bear witness to all those with whom Jesus is standing in solidarity. And know that Jesus is holding together both the depth of despair and the stubborn hope of faith. PRAYER Let us pray, from the liturgy of Good Friday in the Episcopal Book of Common prayer: Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs

SCRIPTURE  1 Corinthians 11, 23b-25 On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it he said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me,” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and God’s people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” WORDS OF HOPE I’m sure that this passage, or a variation of these words, are among the most familiar excerpts of Scripture you hear every week when you participate in the breaking of bread. These words are the Apostle Paul’s which he recorded for all time as he served Holy Communion to his followers in Corinth. On this Maundy Thursday, we remember the establishment of that tradition in the event we now call The Last Supper. As the days of Holy Week come to an end, most people realize that Good Friday does not refer to a “good” event that happened on that day. The “good” part of the event is based on an ancient word, “goude”, meaning pious or holy. That designation began in around 1300 to signify the holiest of sacrifices. On the night before that sacrifice, Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus’ final commandment in the sense of a mandate as he educated his followers in a ceremony that was to become known as Holy Communion. “Maundy” is a shortened version of “mandatum”, a Latin word meaning “command” but it’s more in the nature of an extension of the Love Commandment: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.”(John 13.34) These words were delivered on the same evening as the Last Supper, as he washed his Disciples’ feet. The “mandate” that followed would serve as a reminder to them of the profound extent that love was to reach. Jesus loved them enough to die for them. He was about to literally give his body and his blood. That holy meal was to become a continual reminder of the salvation offered through the ritual of sharing through a meal of mutual love. As he emphasized “Remember me” he was telling them to remember that love has no limits; the mandate of peace on earth. PRAYER May we recall Jesus’ timeless words on this Maundy Thursday as we remember his life of boundless love. As we strive for a world free of hatred and mindless wars, may our love also have no limits. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE John 13:21-26 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining close to his heart; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. WORDS OF HOPE Though this passage clearly foretells of the betrayal by Judas, I find the scene itself has a lot to say. The mention of “ One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining close to his heart;” is what stands out to me here. This disciple, who is never named directly, essentially is laying with his head against Jesus’ chest, in his lap most likely as means were taken while reclining. It is an intimate and very touching image. It is a pesky reference that biblical scholars often debate and try to identify the individual. Some say it is John, the Evangelist, while others argue that is is a metaphorical reference meant to symbolizes the "abiding" relationship Jesus invites all believers into. There are even those who believe it was Mary Magdline, but there are other references to her and the unnamed disciple at Jesus’ tomb. I prefer to think of this as a hint to a same-sex relationship, though there is not any definitive scholarship on this interpretation. I suppose it will always remain a mystery, but it is one that speaks of a deep love and intimacy that resonates with me. Perhaps, at this pivotal moment in Jesus story we can take comfort knowing that Jesus was unafraid to show a physical closeness to his disciples. It reflects the very character of Jesus as being both fearless in his exposing of the one who would betray him and his love and closeness to a person who will most likely remain a mystery. PRAYER May we embrace the love exhibited by Jesus and hold those dear to us even closer, even when we may have fears about what is to come. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR  Hardy Haberman