Daily Devotions and Podcasts
Prayer: Lord, help me to see You in every part of my day, even in the places I least expect. Open my eyes to Your presence in the ordinary and the extraordinary moments of life. Amen.
The Cathedral of Hope Devotion Ministry began as an answer to Progressive Christians who wanted to start their days with a little insight, observation, or wisdom about the Christian faith from their own point of view. Conservative internet devotions were abundant, but there was not much out there for liberal thinkers. The need was clear.
Being a large church, we had a generous amount of writing talent available and also a large number of congregants with theological training who were not on the pulpit. In the early days of the ministry, most of the writing was done by the clergy, but gradually the majority of the writers emerged from those lay volunteers.
That dynamic is still in place as new authors are always joining in to keep the ideas fresh. It’s a fitting structure for any center of progressive thought. This particular Body of Christ has many voices and each one has a unique and important story to tell.
SCRIPTURE Romans 8.9a “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. WORDS OF HOPE Today’s weird holiday is Superman Day. (commemorating the superhero’s birthday in one of the comics) If my friends know anything about me at all, they know I’ve been a Superman fan nearly all my life. It started when I was two or three years old watching the old 1950s TV show starring George Reeves. The program felt magical because even though I didn’t understand much of the storyline, I loved watching Superman leap out of windows to fly or duck behind a boulder to change from Superman into Clark Kent. It wasn’t until years later that I realized Superman had been created in the 1930s, long before television. Oddly enough, an early version of the character wasn’t even a hero, but a villain bent on world domination. I also discovered Superman’s creators were Jewish, and that the character carried parallels to Moses being sent down the river in a basket to escape death — much like young Kal-El being sent away from the doomed planet Krypton in a rocket. The metaphors don’t stop there. Like Jesus, Superman was initially misunderstood — an outsider observing humanity while trying to guide and protect it. Even Jesus was careful about revealing His true nature to everyone around Him. That mirrors Superman’s earliest stories, where he guarded his identity from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. Of course, modern audiences can no longer pretend a pair of glasses would fool Lois Lane. Superman is the real identity, while mild-mannered Clark Kent is the disguise. Both Jesus and Superman are described as possessing powers beyond mortal men. Yet even Superman cannot change water into wine or restore sight to the blind. Jesus changed the course of human history, though many interpretations religion itself still seems to divide humanity as much as unite it. And despite all our wars, suffering, and confusion, often neither Superman nor Jesus appears able — or willing — to save us from ourselves. That is the human conundrum. Even if Superman were real, he couldn’t be everywhere at once. That kind of omniscience belongs only to the Almighty Creator. So why do we sometimes act as though God selectively saves a chosen few while ignoring the rest? At times, that almost makes God seem like a supervillain Himself — strangely enough, much like Superman originally began. In one episode of I Love Lucy, George Reeves appears as Superman and asks the children, “Any of you kids want to wrestle?” On the surface that would make God the greatest Joker of them all. In our frustrating and confusing world, sometimes it feels as if God asks us the same question every day. But remember the Jewish roots of our superhero’s origins. When Jacob wrestled with God, he was truly wrestling with his own self-created conflicts. The result? He not only saved his nation; he became the nation. Jacob discovered that his secret identity all along had been Israel. How about you? Are you ready to take off those glasses and discover your Super Self? PRAYER Help us to understand that waiting for mythic heroes or gods to save the day is futile when we realize that the Spirit of God has been living inside us all along. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
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Words of Hope Podcast
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SCRIPTURE Romans 8.9a “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. WORDS OF HOPE Today’s weird holiday is Superman Day. (commemorating the superhero’s birthday in one of the comics) If my friends know anything about me at all, they know I’ve been a Superman fan nearly all my life. It started when I was two or three years old watching the old 1950s TV show starring George Reeves. The program felt magical because even though I didn’t understand much of the storyline, I loved watching Superman leap out of windows to fly or duck behind a boulder to change from Superman into Clark Kent. It wasn’t until years later that I realized Superman had been created in the 1930s, long before television. Oddly enough, an early version of the character wasn’t even a hero, but a villain bent on world domination. I also discovered Superman’s creators were Jewish, and that the character carried parallels to Moses being sent down the river in a basket to escape death — much like young Kal-El being sent away from the doomed planet Krypton in a rocket. The metaphors don’t stop there. Like Jesus, Superman was initially misunderstood — an outsider observing humanity while trying to guide and protect it. Even Jesus was careful about revealing His true nature to everyone around Him. That mirrors Superman’s earliest stories, where he guarded his identity from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. Of course, modern audiences can no longer pretend a pair of glasses would fool Lois Lane. Superman is the real identity, while mild-mannered Clark Kent is the disguise. Both Jesus and Superman are described as possessing powers beyond mortal men. Yet even Superman cannot change water into wine or restore sight to the blind. Jesus changed the course of human history, though many interpretations religion itself still seems to divide humanity as much as unite it. And despite all our wars, suffering, and confusion, often neither Superman nor Jesus appears able — or willing — to save us from ourselves. That is the human conundrum. Even if Superman were real, he couldn’t be everywhere at once. That kind of omniscience belongs only to the Almighty Creator. So why do we sometimes act as though God selectively saves a chosen few while ignoring the rest? At times, that almost makes God seem like a supervillain Himself — strangely enough, much like Superman originally began. In one episode of I Love Lucy, George Reeves appears as Superman and asks the children, “Any of you kids want to wrestle?” On the surface that would make God the greatest Joker of them all. In our frustrating and confusing world, sometimes it feels as if God asks us the same question every day. But remember the Jewish roots of our superhero’s origins. When Jacob wrestled with God, he was truly wrestling with his own self-created conflicts. The result? He not only saved his nation; he became the nation. Jacob discovered that his secret identity all along had been Israel. How about you? Are you ready to take off those glasses and discover your Super Self? PRAYER Help us to understand that waiting for mythic heroes or gods to save the day is futile when we realize that the Spirit of God has been living inside us all along. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
SCRIPTURE Job 38.12-13 Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? WORDS OF HOPE In the 38 th Chapter of the book of Job, after so much has happened, God finally speaks, not with easy answers, but with questions. “Have you commanded the morning since your days began?” God asks Job. “Have you entered the storehouses of light?” These are not questions meant to humiliate. They are questions meant to humble. They remind Job that the world is larger, deeper, and more mysterious than his suffering alone. And yet, something is striking in today’s passage. God speaks about dawn, about light breaking into darkness, about the edges of the earth being shaken awake. Even in the midst of pain, God points toward the possibility of a new day. Today is also the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, a day that honors those who stand in fragile places around the world trying to hold back chaos, violence, and despair. Peacekeepers are not perfect. Institutions are not perfect. But the work of peace itself remains sacred. To stand between violence and vulnerability is holy work. Job reminds us that we are not God. We cannot control the morning. But we can decide whether we will participate in the coming of the light. Every act of justice, every word of compassion, every refusal to surrender to cynicism becomes part of God’s dawn breaking into the world. Peace is not passive. It is built—sometimes painfully, sometimes imperfectly—by people willing to believe that another world is still possible. In a time when fear dominates headlines and cruelty is too often normalized, people of faith must resist the temptation to withdraw into silence or despair. The voice of God in Job calls us outward again: toward awe, toward humility, and toward responsibility. We may not command the morning. But we can help welcome it. PRAYER God of light and justice, when the world feels heavy with violence and division, remind us that dawn still comes. Give us courage to be makers of peace, protectors of dignity, and bearers of hope. Keep us from surrendering to despair or indifference. And where darkness seems strongest, help us trust that Your light is already breaking through. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Rev Dr. Neil G Thomas Senior Pastor Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ
SCRIPTURE ļ»æ Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it unto me. Matthew 25:40 WORDS OF HOPE Many a moon ago I was a faculty sponsor for our Human Rights group on campus. One year the student leadership decided to engage in an Amnesty International Write for Rights event. In the undertaking leading up to International Human Rights Day on December 10, the young women from our student body joined people from hundreds of countries writing millions of letters to “pressure governments to end torture, halt executions, and free individuals who have been unjustly detained.” (amnestyusa.org) As well, letters to the affected individuals were vessels of hope helping sustain them and their families in terribly dark times. The project was both educational and for some a first step into political activism. Today is the 65 th anniversary of Founders Day for Amnesty International. Begun by Peter Berenson, a labor lawyer in London, with a goal of freeing prisoners of conscience around the world, it has grown to over 10 million members from countries across the globe—from Afghanistan and Angola to Zambia and Zimbabwe. Among the high-water marks for the organization is having the Nobel Peace Prize conferred upon them in 1977. The Nobel committee commended the organization by saying that “the defense of human dignity against torture, violence, and degradation constitutes a very real contribution to the peace of this world.” Since 1977 the abolition of the death penalty has also been an important goal. When the work began, only 16 countries had ceased the practice, but today 113 countries have abolished it. A current campaign urges Gov. Gavin Newsome to commute all death sentences in California before his term is up. Disturbingly, there was a 78% surge in state sanctioned death in 2025, with 5 countries accounting for most of those, the United States being one. (The video link here gives an overview of the increase as well as some signs of hope. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/ ) The scope and depth of the work of this organization is truly admirable, and even to list the causes on which members expend time and heart is too much for this short format. Some of the current campaigns supported in the US are stopping authoritarian practices in our country, protesting and turning back the mass deportation and detention machine, protecting student power from the crackdowns on free speech and peaceful protest, stopping genocide in Gaza, participating in Banned Books week, and advocating for women’s rights. In LGBT+ rights, Amnesty presses for decriminalization in the 60 countries that still have laws against homosexuality and advocates for full and equal access to health care and protections from discrimination in policing, housing, employment and all other areas. https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/gender-sexuality/lgbtqi/ As I write I keep hearing the words of a favorite hymn: Having heard God’s pain at the plight of their people and the call for compassionate service, the faithful one replies: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.” That is the response God asks for today and every day from us. May our heartful response be Yes. (“Here I Am, Lord” by Dan Schultz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W4gABkEGHA ) PRAYER God of all creation, We hear the pain and distress of so many people all over the planet today. May organizations like Amnesty International help us find outlets for fostering justice and peace. Bless the work of our hands and hearts this day. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon
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