Thursday - December 14, 2023

SCRIPTURE John 15:15 I have called you my friends, because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Abba God. WORDS OF HOPE What does knowing Jesus mean to you? A major question for early Christian leaders revolved around the influence that the circumstances surrounding Jesus had on their belief in one God. Thinking about this matter, they concentrated their understanding of what his life and ministry meant to their spiritual lives. From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he became famous among his followers for his wise and holy words which told of God's love, forgiveness, and divine welcome. He also spoke words of correction and encouragement for their lives. Throughout, Jesus revealed much about his Abba God. Jesus revealed God's loving nature as he encountered everyone - rich or poor, powerful or outcast. He revealed God's patience and understanding of human frailty as he gently led his disciples into greater appreciation of his divine ministry. Jesus revealed God's offer that believers could enter the Kingdom of God on earth and live under divine sovereignty which would be reflected in their lives. Jesus revealed the tender, healing care of God as he reached out to heal all manner of illness. He revealed the Almighty power of God when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Before the life of Jesus, it seemed that God was very distant from the common person, but now the Divine's presence seemed to walk with them, talk to them, and eat meals with them. Jesus' life revealed the opportunity to have an intimate relationship with God.  Before Jesus, the Temple curtain had separated the Holy God from all worshipers but the High Priest. Now with the revelation of Jesus, all those who sought a true relationship with God could find divine presence without a middle man. These are several aspects of the Holy One which Jesus revealed to his followers. What aspects of God do you feel within yourself? What other characteristics of God are better revealed to you because of the life and ministry of Jesus? PRAYER Creator, Counselor, and Guide, thank you for the aspects of you that the life of Jesus has revealed to us, that these attributes may live within us and we can share your love with others. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE 3 John 9-11 I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.  Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God. WORDS OF HOPE This Scripture immediately brought to mind my favorite quote from Maya Angelou: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Like Diotrephes, government officials and CEOs are always revealing their true character through their actions and inactions. The challenging part is how their rhetoric creates appealing illusions that downplay or ignore the truth. For example, think of an ad that tried to convince you that using an AI agent will make your life easier. Was that ad transparent about how the company will use your data? Did it mention the environmental costs of data centers powering the AI? Fortunately, we’re blessed to be able to use our spiritual practice as a source of wisdom to see through these kinds of illusions. We can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13), but spirituality doesn’t work like flipping on a light switch and never touching it again. I believe we must decide to anchor ourselves to God every day. Winning in this area requires self-compassion too. We all make mistakes. One of the hardest parts about being human is remembering to be in the world, but not of the world (John 17:14-16). Sometimes, those bad examples John warns us about will influence us, and that’s okay. If we commit to our spirituality with our whole heart and learn from the times we fall, we’ll never stay down for long. PRAYER Today, I activate the divine power of God within me to see through all illusions, “follow only what is good,” and “do good.” Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Logan Alexander Johnson

SCRIPTURE  Exodus 23:2 “You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing.” WORDS OF HOPE There are several stories in scripture about characters who act like bullies. Perhaps the clearest example is Goliath, who repeatedly taunts, insults, and intimidates the Israelites, challenging them to send someone to fight him. His enormous size and threatening words are intended to make them feel powerless. Goliath is an example of an individual bully. A form of bullying that receives less attention is group bullying . In Scripture, Joseph’s brothers are jealous of him, mock him, strip off his special robe, throw him into a pit, and sell him into slavery. The story is especially powerful because Joseph is isolated and outnumbered. His brothers use their collective power against someone who cannot defend himself. Eventually, they choose to sell him rather than kill him. Bullying can become especially destructive when a group turns against one person. Jealousy, resentment, and the desire to belong can turn ordinary conflict into cruelty. Bullying is easy to recognize when one person hurts another, but it can become more troubling when it becomes a group activity . One person makes a cutting remark, someone laughs, another adds to the story, and others remain silent. Before long, people who might never have acted so cruelly alone have become part of the crowd. Why does this happen? People may join in because they want to belong, fear becoming the next target, or simply don't know what to say. Sometimes silence feels safer than standing alone. Yet silence can have consequences. When no one objects, the bully may see silence as acceptance. Laughter becomes encouragement, and the audience becomes part of the bully's power. I recall times sitting around a table when someone begins talking about a person who isn’t there. The first comment is unkind, someone laughs, and another adds something even more hurtful. Soon, the conversation takes on a life of its own. Then someone quietly says, “I don't think we should be talking about her this way.” Something changes! One voice has interrupted the crowd and reminded everyone that a human being is on the other side of their words. Most importantly, that person has shown that courage can be contagious, too . Just as cruelty can invite others to join in, one person's kindness can give others permission to stop. Today’s scripture warns us about the danger of simply following the crowd. Paul offers us an entirely different way of living : “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others .” (Philippians 2:3–4) Perhaps the question is not simply, “Am I the bully ?” but “What happens because I am standing in the crowd?” Am I laughing when I should be silent? Silent when I should speak? Do my words make someone smaller so others and I can feel bigger? Or will I step outside the crowd and stand beside the person being diminished? On this Bullying Prevention Day , let’s remember that Jesus modeled a community where worldly metrics—like power, status, and appearance—hold no value. Instead, every person is treated with the dignity of a child of God. Living out this faith requires everyday courage. Sometimes it looks like speaking up to say, “That’s not right!” Sometimes it is the silent resistance of refusing to laugh along. And often, it is the simple, life-giving act of extending hospitality to the isolated: “Come sit with me.” The crowd may carry numbers, but one compassionate person refusing to go along carries the very presence of Christ. PRAYER God, give me the courage not to follow the crowd when the crowd is causing harm. Help me recognize the person who is being pushed aside, mocked, or diminished, and give me the compassion to move toward them. May my words, my silence, and my actions reflect the love of Christ and remind others that every person is precious in your sight. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR David Sims, Deacon

SCRIPTURE  Galatians 5:13-14 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. WORDS OF HOPE I have not always thought of Paul as being humble, but in this scripture, I see him stripped of arrogance and proclaiming his limitations. He admits he does not understand everything Jesus was teaching, yet he is committed to living and teaching as much as he does understand. He is a work in progress, but he presses on, staying true to the life to which God has called him. I think this is a mighty lesson. I too, believe that I don’t have to understand everything or everybody. I can comfortably leave the unknown in God’s capable and loving hands, while I concentrate on that which is the work God has given me to do: Love God with everything I’ve got, and love everybody always! PRAYER Dear God, I know I don’t always get this right. Sometimes, I struggle to understand my world or even my neighbors, and I find myself worrying or trying in vain to fix something over which I have no control. So, I ask that you help me remember to leave the big stuff to you while I seek ways to be a blessing to everybody I meet each day. I pray for those too far away for me to reach. May I accept your love and spread it far and wide. In this, may I experience your divine peace. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Carole Anne Sarah

SCRIPTURE  Jude verse 22 Be merciful to those who doubt WORDS OF HOPE The book of Jude is a single-chapter letter, so the chapter from where this comes is the whole book. And while Jude was very eager to talk about salvation in this one-chapter epistle, he instead spends time warning the reader about the immoral teachers that were circulating among them, sowing a message that was contrary to the talking about the extravagant grace of God. Jude was writing to a community in conflict. And like any community in conflict, there were insiders and outsiders. Jude was not concerned about the disagreement and didn’t pick a side. Instead, Jude spoke to what happens when people become disconnected from the Spirit. He did not say, ‘stay away from those who think differently’. He effectively says: Stay rooted in love. Then he says something incredibly captivating: Be merciful to those who doubt. Doubt is not treated as something deserving punishment. The response to uncertainty shouldn’t be condemnation. Doubt doesn't require punishment, humiliation, or expulsion. The response to uncertainty is mercy. Read that again: The response to uncertainty is mercy. When people are deconstructing theology, reconsidering what they were taught in Sunday School, struggling with institutional church, or even wondering if they still believe, Jude tells us to leave room for the wavering person and meet them with compassion. Christianity loses something essential when enforcing certainty becomes more important than love, mercy, humility, and care. Anne Lamott may have said it best: The opposite of faith isn’t doubt. It is certainty. Christianity becomes dangerous when certainty replaces faith, power replaces service, and contempt replaces mercy. Jude offers another way: stay rooted in God's love, make room for those who doubt, confront what causes harm, and above all, practice mercy. An Episcopal priest I know had a sign on his desk that read: God does not send us to save God. God sent not his Son to condemn the world, and God certainly didn’t send us to do it either. Jude doesn't say, Make everybody else live according to your understanding of God. He tells believers to attend to their own faithfulness . Rather than giving us a list of enemies to subdue, Jude offers another way. Stay rooted in God's love, make room for those who doubt, confront what causes harm, and above all, practice mercy. PRAYER God of extravagant grace, keep us rooted in your love when certainty tempts us toward judgment, power, or contempt. Give us the humility to make room for doubt, the courage to confront what causes harm, and above all, the grace to meet one another with mercy. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs