Thursday - December 21, 2023

SCRIPTURE Matthew 6: 20, 21 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. WORDS OF HOPE While helping a friend load up the car with boxes, we headed to a storage unit shaped like a castle. I bust out in laughter when I read the sign “Welcome to Cram a Lot”. What a great metaphor! We came a lot to cram a lot…there’s a song in this somewhere. Apparently, storage units in the US are a 53bn dollar industry and growing. Storing our “stuff” has become very valuable for companies who hold onto items that many have forgotten what’s in the boxes they packed. Then I thought about the multiple photo albums and various boxes of stuff Ive been lugging around for years. It’s been taking up space with pictures of people and places I don’t remember as well as a plethora of other “things” which are from days gone by. While we can’t erase the past or deny its existence, we can let go of it in ways that promote healing and growth. Jesus invites us to let got of material things that keep us stuck both physically and spiritually. By cleaning out the debris of negative thoughts, letting go of old hurts and even friends who are holding us back we open the space to have a deeper relationship with God. In speaking with like-minded folks, we discussed how enjoying the moment, sharing memories from the past and letting go of the ones that keep us imprisoned is the best gift we can give ourselves and others. I know when I feel free of fear, doubt, regret or other negative thoughts, I have more energy to freely share. There is immense freedom when we lighten our load, feel the joy of life and breathe a sigh of relief from carrying burdens. It’s the internal peace God intended for our lives. It’s free, and always there with an infinite promise of peace! PRAYER Everlasting Creator of life, as we unpack and repack our problems, let us remember when we ask, you promise to carry our burdens away! In Jesus name, Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR  Donna Jackson

SCRIPTURE Isaiah 30.18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore God will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for the LORD! WORDS OF HOPE True North “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. King believed that true justice was more inevitable and within reach, detours sometimes, but in time–finds a way. That “long arch that bends towards justice” is often, hard to see… As you’re waiting to arrive–to this inevitability–it’s hard to believe you’ll actually get there. But somewhere, deep in your soul, something is refusing to get extinguished–a flame of hope. Change, in the same way, takes time to make its appearance known. What will be isn’t known until it becomes and the future is life’s greatest mystery. And yet, it cannot stay a mystery. We know that time must move forward–this, too, is an inevitability. To perceive time, one must remember that it is only temporary. Your “true north” is moving you forward through time, so that everyone will receive what is owed to them. Eventually, everyone will inherit the world they created. The good will be very good and the evil must bow to it. PRAYER Loving Creator, Do not let our differences be what destroys the souls of the nations, but restore our dignity, heal our hearts, and answer our calls for justice. All we desire is peace between neighbors. Dissolve our fears, and in its place, grow friendship. Enlarge our hearts so that we can meet our enemies with love. There is so much resentment, pain, and suspicion but nothing is more powerful than your forgiveness. We all need you to help us end this terrible cycle of hate and light our way to togetherness, trust, and most of all, love. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jonathon McClellan Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE Luke 11:52 “Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” WORDS OF HOPE Jesus has a lot of criticism for people claiming to be experts in the law. He was not talking about lawyers, but priests, specifically the Pharisees who would be mist aptly compared to “fundamentalists” of today. He saw them self-righteously following the letter of the laws of the Holy Scripture but missing the meaning of them. They contented themselves to follow and preach rules about behaviors but neglect fundamental justice and love and grace. It’s easy to get lost in a maze of rigid rules and forget that sometimes thinking outside the box is the answer. Jesus thought “outside the box”, and encouraged his disciples to do so as well. He healed the sick on the Sabbath, dined with sinners, comforted lepers, spoke with women, and overturned the tables of the money lenders. He saw a lot of the religious rules as getting in the way of people loving God and each other. He recognized that people wanted to be closer to God but sometimes those rigid religious laws got in the way. He encouraged people to find God by showing God’s grace and compassion to others. PRAYER May we seek to follow God’s guidance and bring about justice and love and grace in our world. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR  Hardy Haberman

SCRIPTURE John 14:1,3 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me, where I am, you will be also. WORDS OF HOPE Our Firm Foundation In the days before his death, Jesus prepared his disciples to continue walking in the spiritual truths and path which he had taught them. His followers were entering a period of great uncertainty and total disruption. Have times changed that much? The disciples were afraid of the evil forces which threatened Jesus' life and also what would be the consequence for them. Could they weather the danger which lay before them? Jesus told them that he would never abandon them in life or death. Today, we continue to rest in the assurance that Jesus will always be with us. However, there is one condition which was asked of the followers, "believe in me". That belief is not just a mental agreement. It is a confident assurance in the trustworthiness of Jesus. Trusting in him, Jesus would lead them through those dangerous and uncertain times. It's the same story today, Jesus will care for us and lead us into new opportunities ahead. But, like the disciples, we must trust in the faithfulness of our Lord! "When through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow, for I will be with you in trouble to bless you and sanctify your deepest distress." In these days ahead, may our confidence in the trustworthiness of God's care be expressed in all our daily activities. May the Peace of God be with us. PRAYER To you, O God, I lift up my soul, in you I put my trust! I know you will not let me be humiliated or triumphed over by these adversities and fears. As Psalm 25 tells us:" Even in these uncertain times, "teach me your way and show me your path" to follow... "For you are the God of my salvation and in you I have placed my trust all the day long." Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE I Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. I Corinthians WORDS OF HOPE For seven years, I was a part of the Bethany Oratorio Society, a group of musicians that has performed Handel’s Messiah on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday since 1882 and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion on Good Friday since 1929. This group of Kansas town folk, high school and college students, college faculty and hired soloists have kept this tradition alive for nearly 150 years. During my time in the Society, I was under the direction of Elmer Copley, a towering man of intellect, musical talent, and pastoral care. He directed the 400 voices, the master organist, and the orchestra with precision and passion. In the third part of Handel’s Messiah is sung Since By Man Came Death, a recitation of 1 Corinthians 15:21-22. Taking the librettist’s cue, the chorus starts in A minor and it sounds like a funeral hymn, singing of Adam’s fall and our mortality. Then suddenly, it switches to C major and is sung like a victory shout, singing of the resurrection through Christ. This is done twice for each of the two Biblical verses. Those two verses by Paul, combined with Handel's musical brilliance, powerfully proclaim a theology of resurrection. I recall how Professor Copley insisted that in the funeral sections of the song, we were to sing a hard letter “D” for the words “dead” and “die”. And we sang those words sforzando, meaning with a sudden strong emphasis. He wanted the audience to understand the sudden and vicious nature of death and how helpless we are to its power. He equally insisted that we should sing the victorious sections of the song with musical cheer and volume. The words “by man came also the resurrection” and “we shall all be made alive” are not to be sung timidly or clinically, but with the joy of knowing that in Christ we are alive. Juxtaposing death and resurrection twice, Handel musically switches back and forth between these two extremes. Going from Grave tempo, a cappella singing and complex harmonies in A minor to an Allegro tempo, with full orchestra and a simple harmony in C major. When space provides, give a listen to this chorus from the third part of Messiah, hearing the preaching of St. Paul, George Fredrick Handel, and Dr. Elmer Copley. Hear the finality of death and the joy of resurrection. Know the fall of Adam and the risen Christ. Feel the finality of grave and the celebration of the empty tomb. And if you sing along, don’t forget the hard “D”s and sforzando volume! PRAYER Lord God, thank you for the promise that in Christ, all will be made alive. Help me to live my life in a way that honors you and reflects the resurrection of Christ to those around me. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR  Thomas Riggs