Monday – June 13 – 2022

SCRIPTURE Isaiah 28.23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words. WORDS OF HOPE In this Season of Eastertide, celebrating those 40 days the resurrected Christ walked among us, you are invited to meditate on imagining yourself in the role of one of Jesus’ close disciples recalling the still-fresh occasion of being with him and the others during the Last Supper. There are men in the room who are older than you are and wiser, more experienced, who seem to know what to say in difficult situations. There are others who are simple fishermen who followed Jesus because they were invited by Him. For you, it has been almost three years now that you have been with Jesus and you wonder tonight what it was that first attracted you to him and the group that surrounded him? Was it just plain curiosity or a feeling of adventure? Remember how your friends thought that you had lost your mind when you told them that you were going to follow Jesus? But, somehow, deep down ... you knew that you really had to...that you really wanted to see what Jesus had to offer. And what a three-year period it has been! You realize how you have grown to really admire this man from Nazareth. In fact, you have grown to love him in a way that is difficult to describe as all love is. You just feel totally at home with him...secure with him...in fact, you feel totally accepted by him even as you make dumb mistakes like the one in Galilee last week. You told him what had happened and apologized and he broke into a large grin. He told you it was okay and invited you to share in a piece of bread and a cup of wine that he had. Although the whole business is a bit crazy, you know that you are where you are supposed to be. You turn to Peter who is on your left for some more wine and he passes you the jar as he tells you to help yourself. You really don't want to sleep while there is still a chance that Jesus will speak. You turn to your right now and look at Jesus and see that he is talking quietly with John who everyone knows is his best friend. He is talking too quietly to hear so you start talking with the others near you. Suddenly there is a lull in all of the chatter that happened quite spontaneously, and Jesus looks around the room and smiles and you and the other smile back. Your heart begins to beat faster, and you are not sure why. As Jesus begins to speak you and the others shift your body position to see him better and in order to pay better attention to what he is saying to the group. Jesus is seated four people away from you to your right. He speaks: “As my Abba has loved me, so I have loved you, live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Abba's commandments, and live in God’s love.” His eyes were moving from one person to the other and you are struck when his eyes meet yours. The feeling you have is that he is speaking directly to you and as if there were no one else present in the room. He continues: “All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” PRAYER Speak to me God, for your servant is listening. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Bob Shea Cathedral of Hope / United Church of Christ

SCRIPTURE Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So, the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore, it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. WORDS OF HOPE Today is English language day; set aside as a day to recognize English as a somewhat ubiquitous language throughout the world. Think if you will about how a Chinese pilot landing a plane in Rio de Janeiro will speak to the control tower in English. Consider how many people consider the King James Version of the Bible to be the pinnacle of translations. The discussion of the Bible and translations has come up several times in our small group. And during this sermon series on learning to love the Bible, it might be a good time to reflect on the number of translations into English that there are. The first English translation was the Wycliffe Bible. This Bible was created, contrary to the law of the church at the time which said the Bible in daily use had to be in Latin. Only advanced scholars and church authorities could read the original Greek or Aramaic. It was only after the Church of England broke away from the church of Rome that an authorized (King James Version) came into existence. Translating the Bible presents no doubt some issues. Just as the English of King James has changed, so too had the ancient Greek changed. It is possible that the language of the gospels from the first or second century C.E. was not understood in the same way by the time of Shakespeare. We see from the ancient story of the tower of Babel, that language can be a tool or a weapon. In his poem “the Stranglehold of English lit”, African poet Felix Mnthali speaks of English as a tool of colonization: …. Eng. Lit., my sister, was more than a cruel joke— it was the heart of alien conquest. … For your devotional time today stop and think about words and how we use them. If you are a native English speaker, think about the language you grew up using. Take a moment and find your favorite Bible passage and see if you can read it in more than one English translation. Are there differences and are they significant? Most importantly, do they speak to you? PRAYER Loving creator, give us a heart of understanding what it is you would have us do with our lives and in our lives. Help guide our thoughts and our speech so that language becomes a tool of communication and not a weapon that we use to minimize, marginalize, or discriminate against others. May all our words, be words of love; for You are love. DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare

SC RIPTURE  John 13.34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you Love One Another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. WORDS OF HOPE A Love that Never Runs Out Oh, how lovely it is to give love. When I give love, it is like the walls of a dam burst open. I realize, that as the waters travel freely, I am able to give even more love than before. The heart is a muscle like any other, and the more it is exercised, the stronger it becomes. Here’s the magic of giving love: eventually, and sometimes immediately, you get it back. Love is not something you put in a jar and leave in your pantry, but it is given like a meal. That meal can feed five, five hundred, or five million, and like any meal, it gives strength to the one who eats it. This strength is actually a capacity for giving more love. So, as you give love, you create even more love, in yourself and others. Love teaches love, kindness teaches kindness, and mercy teaches mercy. Without knowing it, by giving a kind word, we are leaving something behind for the next generation. Look for every opportunity then, to love, for love turns this world into a paradise. If love teaches love, then hate teaches hate, cruelty teaches cruelty, and apathy teaches apathy. We must then overcome hate with love. Without wood a fire goes out. If we do not feed our neighbors hate, then there will be less hate. The same is true of love. There are a lot of fires in the world burning our people with a contagious hatred. We are surrounded by this flame. Our choices will either save this world or hasten its destruction. God’s people must be determined, dedicated, and diligent if we are to break the dams surrounding our hearts and cause love to flow like a mighty river. Overcome hate with love. Do not return hate for hate, but forgive, show mercy, and compassion. Then, you will have understanding. Love will lighten your heavy heart and change your enemy into a friend. PRAYER Loving and merciful Spirit, you have given us the most precious gift of love. Let us not bury it within ourselves. Help us to be vulnerable, and if we are injured for the sake of love, heal our hearts. Open our eyes to see the countless opportunities You have given us to love, and may we get it back a hundred-fold. Bless You Great Spirit for all that we shall receive. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jonathon McClellan Order of St Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE Acts 4:1–4  While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. So, they seized them and took them into custody until the next day since it was already evening. But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. WORDS OF HOPE The Pharisees and other religious leaders believed getting rid of Jesus would stop the teachings, so hearing the disciples proclaim the name of Jesus, must have set them back. They were stunned to see, in spite of all their efforts, the followers of Christ only grew in boldness and number. Peter and John, having just begun their ministry, faced the same religious rulers who had assumed killing Jesus, would also end the Gospel message of the good news where ALL humankind is created equal. Having been filled with the Holy Spirit, the message Peter was sharing began reaching deep into the hearts of many who were being transformed by words of hope! This is just the beginning of opposition as the message of the Gospel begins to spread. Since Jesus had warned them, this would happen, they were no longer afraid to share the good news of Christ. The gospel of inclusion and freedom has survived natural disasters, political parties, wars, chaos, book burnings, and has been hidden in caves. Even today, we experience controlling political and religious leaders who try to crush movements that expose ways to end injustice. It’s so reassuring that no matter who or what tries, it is impossible to stamp out the Gospel. Through the crucifixion of Jesus the man, Jesus the Christ was resurrected, and the teaching of hope and love for ALL humankind is still very alive today! PRAYER God of all creation, thank you for the reminder that everyone is welcome at the table of Grace. Fill us with longing to continually share the “good news” of Christ! In Jesus name, Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Donna Jackson

SCRIPTURE Psalm 95:1-3, 6-7 Come, let us sing to our God; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before God's presence with thanksgiving, raising a loud shout with song. For the Most High is our God, the great sovereign over all else. Come, let us bow down and bend our knee and kneel before our God. For God is our Maker, in whose presence we live, and in whose hand we are held. Oh, that today I will listen to God's voice. WORDS OF HOPE The Psalms of Eastertide celebrate the victory of Jesus and the practical applications of being thankful to God. The central subject of today’s Psalm is about the surrender of our life and desires in order that God's perfect will may be lived through us. That sounds like a tall order, but we might say today it’s about dedicating our lives to God’s desires for us. But, do we know what that may mean? What we may have to do; what pattern of life activity will we express; what must we change or give up if we are to live according to God's will for us? That's a lot of unknown and big questions. We might say: "I'm kind of comfortable living the way that I am today". What if I don't want to make the changes that God asks me to make? Do I have confidence that God's will is better for my life? That last question is the real key which allows a person to dedicate their life to God. Can we place our confidence in God and in God's perfect goodness? For "God is our Maker" is a strong statement which acknowledges, that even in the midst of these questions, we can put our confidence in God's good desire for our life. Even though our parents were technically our makers, the very "stuff" (atoms) of which we are made and the purpose for our being are the products of the Holy One's creation. At our best and truest self, we are the precious product of God's good creativity. And as God follows the development of our life, God does not want the "shine of divine goodness" to be rubbed off our life and its potential action. We can dedicate our life to God with full assurance that divine goodness will make us into the remarkable creation of an always good God. PRAYER Loving Creator, help us to strive to shine in your divine goodness in all we say or do. May we reflect the light of Jesus. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare