Thursday - August 22, 2024
Dr. Pat Saxon
READING
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.”
-Bernice Johnson Regan
WORDS OF HOPE
So begins one of the Civil Rights Movement’s powerful songs made known by Sweet Honey in the Rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Uus--gFrc And whether you are familiar with the song or nor, there is something about the assertion that we must persevere in the quest for justice, freedom, and equality and never relent that still fuels our protest and activism.
Certainly, Rev. Dr. William Barber holds this principle at his very core. In an interview in 2022 he said, “I came from a people who said: ‘You fight on. You walk by faith and not by sight. You don’t quit. You be steadfast.’… You do it because you’ve got to take the life you’re handed and make a difference with the life you have.”(Religion News 6/18/2022) Barber’s stamina and determination are legendary-- even more amazing given the pain and debilitating effects of his ankylosing spondylitis.
Certainly, we see the principle lived out the icons of the movement--local and national -–from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King to Opal Lee. And there is no question that this work requires enormous steadfastness, determination, and the commitment to “let nobody turn us around.”
However, today I want to shape the above statement differently---We who believe in freedom MUST ALSO REST if we are to have the stamina, perspective, wholeness, and creative spiritual vision to continue the work of justice.
A recent piece by the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Pastor of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, makes this point well. While on a 5 week spiritual respite, she writes:
“… [I]n these hot mess times, labor calls our spirit… as moral urgency. I see Sonya Massey’s mother weeping, and all I want to do is build a world where no mama cries such tears. As I visit with my grandbabies, that sorrow sits in my mind and I long to do everything in my power to ensure this world no longer treats their Black skin as a threat.” She continues: “Our culture’s relentless anti-Blackness can—if I’m not careful—leave me feeling unworthy, cast aside, rejected. Attending a protest; writing an op-ed; holding sorrow at a vigil; these acts and more are a rebellion against those evil whispers. This work feels like a proclamation that my Black life—that all Black lives—do, in fact, matter.”
And yet, she clearly hears the clarion call to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. For her, “rest is resistance,” a refusal to succumb to the system which says we must earn our
dignity. “Caring for the softness in ourselves is defiance against everyone who says that we need to be hard to make it in this world. Particularly for Black folks, queer folks, women, immigrants and more, loving ourselves fully—exactly as we are, because of who we are—is the only way to fully overcome the messages that tell us, again and again, we are not enough.”
So, the message here is not either/or, but both/and. Rest, sabbaticals, renewal for the long climb to justice.
PRAYER
God of Justice and Rest, lead us through the wilderness of obsessive drivenness—even for the good—that we may have the stamina and restored vision to ascend to the mountain top. Amen.
DEVOTION AUTHOR
Dr. Pat Saxon
Need Some Inspiration? Read our Daily Devotions
SCRIPTURE Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. WORDS OF HOPE Some days I feel like I need to see these words from Paul in great big letters on a neon sign at every turn. Trying to do good is hard. It is frustrating. It is tiring. It is often dismissed or even looked upon as doing wrong. Obviously, these feelings are not unique to our twenty-first century lives as Paul felt the need to offer them to the Galatians in around 50 A.D. As followers of Christ, our days should be filled with acts of doing good. Some days this comes easier than others. I find myself often trying to shut down the voice in my head that says, “You are only one person. You can’t make any real difference in the world.” Depending on my frame of mind, I take those words as either a “get out of jail free card” accepting them as truth and doing nothing; or, I rebel against them doing my best to prove them wrong. Neither of these responses is rooted in what Paul is teaching. Doing good is not an issued challenge that we can choose to accept or not, it is a responsibility…and a gift…given to each of us every day. Sometimes God has a round-a-bout way of teaching us such lessons. The other day I was reading an article in Architectural Digest, not a periodical I normally read, about how the use of GLP-1 in this country is noticeably changing home building in this country. People want larger closets because as they feel better about their physical selves, they find joy in buying clothes. The extra-large gourmet kitchens of the last several decades are being downsized to simply “functional” as food becomes less of a focal point in daily life. Though the details of this article were fascinating, I was most interested in the numbers. How many people did it take to create this big swing in new home design? Approximately one in eight adults are taking this medication, 12% of the adult population. In the big scheme of things, that is not a huge number; and yet, one person at a time that decided to do something good for themselves resulted in a noticeable change in the home building industry in general. This example makes me examine more closely the potential that each opportunity, choice, or decision, we have has in effecting change in the world around us. Though those that identify as religiously progressive are still outnumbered by both moderates and conservatives, 19% to 38% and 28% respectively. This gives me hope that each of us doing good in the world around us can and will come together with a voice that is strong enough and loud enough to change things for good. If 8% of a population can come together to initiate bigger closets, surely 19% of us have a chance at uniting to build bigger hearts and minds. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” PRAYER God of all goodness, protect me from the weariness that comes from striving to be good in the world. Please give me strength and courage to keep going. And, let me never forget that all the goodness I am able to bring to those around me, I am giving in your name. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 So, from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. WORDS OF HOPE The Future Is Peace by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon tells the story of two men—one Palestinian and one Israeli—who experienced profound personal loss because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, yet chose reconciliation instead of revenge. Through their friendship, they offer a powerful message of active hope: peace is not something we simply wait for; it is something we choose and create together. When we have been wronged, whether personally or amid the larger conflicts of our world, our instinct can be anger, defensiveness, or even revenge. We experience this in family disagreements, tension between coworkers, broken friendships, or the pain of being excluded. The need for racial reconciliation can arise in similarly ordinary moments. Someone may feel unheard, stereotyped, excluded, or treated differently. Reconciliation begins when we acknowledge what has happened, listen to one another’s experiences, take responsibility where needed, and work toward healthier relationships. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds us that God “reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Reconciliation, then, is not simply something Christians support in principle—it is something we are called to do. Reconciliation is active. It means listening when it would be easier to defend ourselves, crossing divides rather than accepting them, pursuing justice, and recognizing the image of God in those whose experiences may be different from our own. Lasting peace requires empathy, honest dialogue, justice, and the courage to recognize our shared humanity. This Saturday, August 29, Hope for All Colors—a CoH advocacy group that brings together Black people, People of Color, and allies—will host an afternoon of food, fellowship, and meaningful conversation celebrating the richness of our diverse church community. I invite you to join us—to listen, learn, share a meal, and build new relationships. Together, we can practice the ministry of reconciliation: recognizing our shared humanity, pursuing justice and equality, and becoming people who do not simply hope for peace, but actively work to create it. PRAYER God of reconciliation, teach us to listen with humility, pursue justice, cross the divides between us, and recognize your image in every person. Give us the courage not simply to hope for peace, but to work together to create it. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs
SCRIPTURE Isaiah 30.18-19 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you and therefore will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious God will be when you cry for help! As soon as God hears, God will answer you. WORDS OF HOPE How do you define the ministry of Social Justice? Who is most in need of social justice in our society? Often, we think about matters of social justice as inequality of opportunity, education, and income among various groups or races of people. Hence, we set out to change the structure of society to better fit these needs. Although emphasis can be on change of policies toward better practices, as Christians we should seek first to become involved in God's concept of justice which has its foundation in the existence of harmony among all humans. We long to live in a harmonious country, one in which we are united for the mutual benefit of all our citizens. The word "harmony" is derived from the concept of things "fitting together, joining in good order". God's desire is that human society will participate in a "seamless process" of receiving, giving, sharing: caring so that everyone experiences the full blessings of God's magnificence. As we give a cup of cold water to those weakened by thirst, we should be grasping their other hand in our loving hands of help. We should be joining our resources and self in harmony with their needs to bring them peace and relief. Harmony is more than "just getting along with others". That's cheap harmony... cheap social justice. We Christians are called to practice divine-style harmony. Justice which results when we interact with all others and share ourselves in peace, love, humility and the full blessings of God. Who is in need of peace, harmony, and the full blessings of God in your life? PRAYER May the days of our lives be filled with God's richest blessings and may we know the joy of sharing God’s harmony of purpose with those most on need of love and social justice among us. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
SCRIPTURE 1 Corinthians 6: 1-4 And how dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been wronged, does it make any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God’s ways instead of a family of Christians? The day is coming when the world is going to stand before a jury made up of followers of Jesus. If someday you are going to rule on the world’s fate, wouldn’t it be a good idea to practice on some of these smaller cases? Why, we’re even going to judge angels! So why not these everyday affairs? As these disagreements and wrongs surface, why would you ever entrust them to the judgment of people you don’t trust in any other way? WORDS OF HOPE This Scripture from Paul highlights the flaw of trying to solve human conflict using the world’s tools of retaliation and legal battles. Albert Einstein said it this way: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” When we rely on the world’s methods, we default to a tit-for-tat approach to conflict. On a personal level, this mindset can damage our relationships. On a global scale, it can lead to widespread suffering. A timely example is the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred 81 years ago this month. That US military attack was a direct response to Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Instead of breaking the cycle, we tried to solve bombs with more bombs. Many lives were lost and forever altered on both sides, and we are still living with the consequences. Luckily, God has given us all a priceless gift. We do not have to stay in a state where we’re driven by survival instincts rather than reason, what Buddhism refers to as “the world of animality.” In every moment, we can tap into our higher power to elevate our life condition. The specifics of how to do this are different for everyone, but I believe with my whole heart that the outcome will always be in service of our highest good. When we approach obstacles with a high life condition that’s rooted in faith, we change on a profound level. When we change, our environment changes as well. The next time you’re upset because someone cut you off in traffic or your coworker was rude, remember that you can’t truly solve the problem from a place of negativity. Take a deep breath. Reach for your tools of faith, like prayer and Scripture. Then take action using the wisdom and compassion that is always inside you. This is how we heal ourselves and the world—with one small, good choice after another. PRAYER I activate the power of God that lives in me and use it to transform myself and my circumstances. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Logan Alexander Johnson
SCRIPTURE Genesis 49:8-12 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness—who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, [ b ] and the obedience of the peoples is his. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes; his eyes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. WORDS OF HOPE This passage comes from Jacob’s blessing to his sons. He essentially is defining the twelve tribes of Israel, and his son Judah goes on to found the nation of the Jews. He compares his son to a lion, and that symbol was used for many years to represent the Jewish people. Lions have always carried a special significance to me. Aside from the fact that my Astrological sign is Leo, I have always had an affinity for the big cats. They were long my favorite animal and I had the amazing privilege to actually help raise a lion cub when I was in my twenties. I worked on the Bozo Show at that time and our producer had convinced the zoo to let us raise an orphaned lion cub on the show to both educate and promote the zoo. Today that would be unthinkable, but it was the 1970’s, a different time. Pasha, the cub was a delightful animal and as she grew, different members of our staff, including myself would take her home to care for her. I learned that lions are not house cats, and though they can be affectionate and cute, they are not domestic pets. I will admit that I enjoyed taking her for walks on her leash around my neighborhood. Pasha taught me a lot. The lion is an apt symbol for the early Jewish peoples. They were tough and resilient, forming a strong family, much like lions. The descendants of Judah, which include Jesus if you believe the lineage in the Scriptures came from that same resilient stock. It’s good to remember where we came from when times get tough. Lions are fierce, but they can be tender as well, especially with their prides. PRAYER May we remember that resilience and rely on our inner lion when we face adversity and may we be as loving as a lioness to those who seek our help. DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman
SCRIPTURE Romans 11:13-29 (The Inclusive Bible) “Now I speak to all who have been welcomed into God’s wide embrace.” WORDS OF HOPE Today is Serendipity Day, and I find myself smiling at the beauty hidden inside that word. Serendipity means discovering something precious in an unexpected way. It is finding a gift you were never searching for, encountering love in an ordinary moment, or realizing that what once felt like a detour was quietly leading you toward something beautiful all along. Life is full of these holy surprises. The moments that shape us most are often the ones we never planned: a friendship that begins unexpectedly, a conversation that arrives at just the right time, a song that comforts a weary heart, or the kindness of a stranger who reminds us that love is still alive in the world. I remember watching the romantic comedy Serendipity years ago. At its heart, the film wonders whether life's unexpected moments are truly random or whether they carry a deeper meaning. Whether we call it coincidence, providence, or serendipity, it speaks to a hope many of us share—that our lives are not meaningless accidents but part of a story still unfolding. Whenever I think about serendipity, I also think about Bob Ross. With his gentle voice and calm spirit, he reminded millions of viewers, "We don't make mistakes, only happy accidents." Those words have become more than painting advice. They have become a way of seeing life itself. What first appears to be a mistake may become the very brushstroke that gives the whole painting its beauty. Perhaps that is one way to imagine God—not as a distant Creator who finished the universe long ago and stepped away, but as the Divine Artist whose canvas has no edges and whose creativity never runs dry. Genesis tells us that God looked upon creation and called it good. Perhaps creation was never meant to be a finished painting hanging in a gallery. Perhaps it is a living work of art, still unfolding with every sunrise, every act of compassion, every child born, and every unexpected moment of grace. If God is the Divine Artist, then I have gradually stopped imagining God in narrow or monochrome ways. Instead, I imagine God as a rainbow-fluid—not because God can be contained by a rainbow, but because no single image, color, language, or metaphor could ever express the fullness of the One who creates all things. Every shade of skin becomes another color in God's palette. Every language has a different melody. Every culture is another brushstroke. Every ability, personality, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and life story reflects another glimpse of the Creator's boundless imagination. Diversity is not something God merely tolerates; it is something God delights in. I believe God delights in LGBTQIA+ people and in everyone who has ever wondered if they belonged. God delights in Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahá'ís, people of Indigenous and Native spiritual traditions, people who are questioning, and people who are still searching. We often draw lines that divide "us" from "them," but God's love continually reaches beyond every line we draw. Sometimes I think about the words often attributed to the 14th Dalai Lama: "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Whether we gather in a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, sacred circle, or simply beneath the open sky, kindness remains one of the clearest reflections of the Divine. Compassion speaks a language every heart can understand. The natural world tells the same story. Trees change with the seasons without fearing the change. Mountains reach toward the heavens. Rivers patiently carve their paths through stone. Birds greet the morning with song. Whales sing beneath the sea. Butterflies emerge transformed. Dogs welcome us with joyful affection, while cats curl into warm patches of sunlight, reminding us that rest can be holy. Every creature reflects another brushstroke from the Divine Artist, revealing a Creator who delights in endless beauty and breathtaking diversity. Serendipity reminds me that God often meets us not through dramatic miracles but through quiet moments: a friend's embrace, a shared meal, a child's laughter, the comfort of a beloved animal, or an unexpected act of kindness. These ordinary gifts become sacred because they quietly remind us that we are never alone. Life will still bring grief, uncertainty, disappointment, and change. There are seasons when we wonder whether the canvas has been ruined. Yet the Divine Artist never abandons the work. Grace has a remarkable way of transforming broken places into places where love grows deeper than before. Perhaps that is the greatest gift of holy serendipity: discovering that we were never accidents. We are beloved. We belong. We are all part of God's unfolding rainbow creation. And as God looks upon humanity, animals, forests, oceans, mountains, stars, and every living thing held together in love, I imagine the Creator smiling with joy and speaking the words that have echoed since the dawn of creation: "It is good." Then, beholding the whole breathtaking masterpiece in all its radiant diversity, God smiles once more and whispers, "No... it is very good." PRAYER Loving and Creative God, thank you for the beautiful diversity of your creation. Help us see your image in every person, welcome those who have been pushed aside, and share your love through kindness, compassion, and grace. May we remember that we are all part of your unfolding masterpiece. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Reed Kirkman