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.
READING “This is the air I breathe. This is the air I breathe, Your holy presence, living in me”….Marie Barnet WORDS OF HOPE Recently, an article in the New York Times reported on a scientific study that found that “the patterns of breathing through our nose are so distinctive that it may be possible to identify us by our breath alone.” If measured for about 24 hours, it reveals a distinct “breath print.” How amazing that it could be so! ļ»æ As I sat with the wonder of this discovery, I began to remember lines from Genesis about God breathing God’s breath into Adam, and then I recalled songs such “Breathe” which asserts that we breathe the very breath of God. James Finley, one of the core teachers for the Center for Action and Contemplation, had come to this conclusion through personal experience as a young Cistercian monk during his time at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky (where Thomas Merton was his spiritual director). He was praying the Psalms in the loft of the barn, and as he breathed in the air, he had the insight that “what we tend to think of as the air is actually God. In a subtle, interior way I sensed that I was walking back and forth in the atmospheric, all-encompassing presence of God, who was sustaining me breath by breath.” Sustaining each of us breath by breath. The sheer intimacy of this reality is achingly beautiful and can, if we allow it, crack open our oft-protected heart to embrace the mystical encounter. For Finley, “the most intimate depth of this awakening moment was a simple awareness that God, who was sustaining [his] life breath by breath, knew me through and through as mercy within mercy within mercy.” This kind of awareness should give us pause: It is not the kind of thing we just experience and then run to the grocery store or keep scrolling through news threads. Sacred presence lives in us, exchanges the flow of life with us, sustains us in love. And so I wonder if, in some sense, these breath measurements could be said to capture the billions of manifestations of God’s breath, with each of us so fearfully and wonderfully made? My head swirls with the implications of it all—and I feel like I did when I first saw the images of the Webb telescope. Unable to comprehend it all—but struck with awe and holy wonder. PRAYER Breathe in us, Breath of God, Fill us with life anew, that we may love what you would love and do what you would do.* Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon *(adapted from “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” by Edwin Hatch)
Send us a Message
Have a question? We’re here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch.
Words of Hope Podcast
Click images below to reveal the entire Devotion. Click Show More button for more past Devotions.
READING “This is the air I breathe. This is the air I breathe, Your holy presence, living in me”….Marie Barnet WORDS OF HOPE Recently, an article in the New York Times reported on a scientific study that found that “the patterns of breathing through our nose are so distinctive that it may be possible to identify us by our breath alone.” If measured for about 24 hours, it reveals a distinct “breath print.” How amazing that it could be so! ļ»æ As I sat with the wonder of this discovery, I began to remember lines from Genesis about God breathing God’s breath into Adam, and then I recalled songs such “Breathe” which asserts that we breathe the very breath of God. James Finley, one of the core teachers for the Center for Action and Contemplation, had come to this conclusion through personal experience as a young Cistercian monk during his time at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky (where Thomas Merton was his spiritual director). He was praying the Psalms in the loft of the barn, and as he breathed in the air, he had the insight that “what we tend to think of as the air is actually God. In a subtle, interior way I sensed that I was walking back and forth in the atmospheric, all-encompassing presence of God, who was sustaining me breath by breath.” Sustaining each of us breath by breath. The sheer intimacy of this reality is achingly beautiful and can, if we allow it, crack open our oft-protected heart to embrace the mystical encounter. For Finley, “the most intimate depth of this awakening moment was a simple awareness that God, who was sustaining [his] life breath by breath, knew me through and through as mercy within mercy within mercy.” This kind of awareness should give us pause: It is not the kind of thing we just experience and then run to the grocery store or keep scrolling through news threads. Sacred presence lives in us, exchanges the flow of life with us, sustains us in love. And so I wonder if, in some sense, these breath measurements could be said to capture the billions of manifestations of God’s breath, with each of us so fearfully and wonderfully made? My head swirls with the implications of it all—and I feel like I did when I first saw the images of the Webb telescope. Unable to comprehend it all—but struck with awe and holy wonder. PRAYER Breathe in us, Breath of God, Fill us with life anew, that we may love what you would love and do what you would do.* Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon *(adapted from “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” by Edwin Hatch)
SCRIPTURE 2 Kings 61-7 Now the company of prophets said to Elisha, “As you see, the place where we live under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, and let us collect logs there, one for each of us, and build a place there for us to live.” He answered, “Do so.” Then one of them said, “Please come with your servants.” And he answered, “I will.” So, he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a log, his ax head fell into the water; he cried out, “Alas, master! It was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. He said, “Pick it up.” So, he reached out his hand and took it. WORDS OF HOPE This is a really enigmatic story that is hard to make sense of for me. Floating axe heads? I like to find a piece of every scripture in the lectionary that I can relate to, or that can be the basis of a story, but this one was tough. I thought about it for a long time and then came to the conclusion that perhaps the relevance was there in plain sight. The man chopping down the tree was so enthusiastic or frantic that his axe head flew from his axe and landed in the river. He literally “lost his head” in his enthusiasm. I can certainly relate to that. Sometimes, I find myself so carried away with the action of a situation that I lose my head and get lost. The details become flustering, and I can’t find a spot to center myself. Elisha breaks the problem down to a simple action. One that had magical results, but one that I can take with me. When I become overwhelmed and flustered, I can toss that metaphorical stick in the river, watch the ripples spread out and eventually find peace. At that point my head floats back to me. PRAYER ļ»æ At times when I am overwhelmed, let me remember that God will help me center myself if I only take a moment to pause and watch and listen. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman
SCRIPTURE ļ»æ Proverbs 16:11 Honest scales and balances are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are God’s work. WORDS OF HOPE I have just returned from a trip to Ireland with my daughter, her husband, and my four- and six-year-old grandsons. To experience the new and different through the eyes of children is both nourishing and refreshing. We did quite a bit of driving. The first thing the boys asked was, “Why is the steering wheel on a different side from Mommy’s car?” This was not an unreasonable question, though I found the wording quite telling. They didn’t say “wrong side,” but rather “different side.” This question was followed by, “How long until we get to where we are going?” The response, “About 170 kilometers.” As you might imagine, the next question that came was, “What is a kilometer?” Thus began a week of teachable mathematical moments. The six-year-old is a math whiz and entertains himself by doing math problems in his head. He spent the remainder of our trip doing the conversions between kilometers and miles. His fun was expanded when we stopped at our first shop and he learned that the Irish use euros rather than dollars and thus he was presented with more math equations to solve. I share this story because today is Math 2.0 Day, a day set aside to highlight the importance of math in our lives. Though I am thrilled with this little guy’s ability to solve these math equations, I am more thrilled that he never thought the differences in another country were “wrong.” Both boys readily accepted kilometers and euros, as well as biscuits and jumpers, with no judgement or criticism; these were just new, different, fun, and perfectly acceptable, ways to see the world. It may seem like a small thing, but in an age where even the slightest differences in lifestyle, looks, or beliefs can cause such divisive thoughts and actions in our world, I felt blessed by being in the presence of true child-like wonder…and acceptance. This experience made me wonder when it is that we lose our ability to see and embrace difference as something exciting, as something worth exploring and understanding, as something that expands our lives rather than threatens and diminishes it. Coincidentally, we also happened to be in downtown Dublin during the Pride parade and celebration. Though our little boys don’t understand all the significance of Pride celebrations, they do understand the general meaning and were thrilled to find themselves in the midst of all the rainbows, something that is familiar to them. If only we could all accept difference and see it as a gift, as a means to growth, knowledge, and blessings. If only we could cultivate understanding and appreciation by exploring our differences. Like my grandsons, we would learn that 170 kilometers is not as far as 170 miles, and be grateful. PRAYER God of all things measurable and immeasurable, help us to keep an open mind and open heart so that we can learn from all that we experience. Remind us that you are the maker of all things, familiar and unfamiliar, and each is a gift to us. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
Get Devotions sent to your Email!