Wednesday - February 26, 2025

SCRIPTURE Ecclesiastes 9.12-18 For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me. There was a little city with few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it. Now there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. So, I said, ‘Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.’ The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good. WORDS OF HOPE I came across the above passage while searching for some Bible references to quiet. There are many, and many that we are probably well aware. But this one was new to me. And the thing that struck me, the most was the short parable in the center about the small city. Admittedly, there is a contradiction that I do not understand where it first says that the wise man’s wisdom delivered the city, and then it says his words were not heeded. Clearly, the city was delivered; someone listened to the wise man. But the words of the wise man delivered the city from the siege. Nonetheless, the last four lines are words that I’m sure we should heed. Quiet words of wisdom not only are effective, not only are useful, but are also comforting. We are in a stage of time where shouts from all directions create such a cacophony of anger and distain for others that we do not hear the quiet words of wisdom. And not just those words of wisdom from outside ourselves. We can also miss those quiet words of wisdom within ourselves; that still small voice that that calls us to be the best, or at least to try to do the best that we can with what we have. Each of us has life experiences, stores of knowledge and internalized wisdom that gives us the ability, hopefully, to discern wisdom versus folly. So, I encourage you today to take some time, maybe even set aside time for several days to listen to the quiet voices, whether they are within or without. Do not let the shouting drown out the wisdom that you know you have. PRAYER Great Creator help us to hear the quiet voices that lead us to wisdom. Bring up within us that part of you that resides quietly within all of our hearts. Help us to drown out the shouting and replace it with your loving voice. Amen.  DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare.

SCRIPTURE Psalm 38.19-20 Many have become my enemies without cause, those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. WORDS OF HOPE Today’s Scripture reading is one of many titled A Psalm of David and could easily have been written by King David himself, considering the subject matter and degree of frustration the writer pours into his lyrics. The Psalms were written as song lyrics and I can imagine the music for this one being a heavy Wagner opera, not a Little Mermaid overture. I can’t count the times I’ve been asked how something written (in this case) about 2,800 years ago in a different culture could have anything to say to us today? My answer is that the words were written by humans, and we are humans with the same kinds of hopes, dreams, adversities, joys, disappointments, and surprises in our culture as they had in theirs. They felt the same raw emotions that we are feeling now. The Psalms remind us to never keep those emotions locked up inside of our minds and souls until they eventually destroy us, but to express them to ourselves, to the ones we love and trust, but most of all, to God! The Psalmists had no problem with releasing their inner selves, even when the presumed perpetrator of their griefs was God. They yelled at God all the time. Did God hear them? Yes! Did their stories always have happy endings? You know the answer to that. A common happy-ending thread in most of the Bible narratives, however, teaches us that when the families, nations or tribes were unified in their determination, their purposes were accomplished. When they were feuding or fragmented, they failed. How does that fact effect our lives today? Do we have enemies we had considered our friends, who repay our desire for justice and truth with baseless accusations and hatred? What would the Psalmists have us do? Yell at God? Blame others? Blame ourselves? Write a sorrowful song? Fine! Do all of that. The ancients were honest with their emotions and went through that whole list of positive and negative responses to what they considered as hopeless situations, but hear the words of the last lyric of today’s reading: “I seek only to do what is good.” That was God’s Commandment and Jesus’ lifelong practice, and he always did it to build the community. And that community survives today in you and me. PRAYER Empathetic God, you have listened patiently to our laments for thousands of years. You have never abandoned us. You are with us now. Guide us today as we seek together to do only what is good, what is right, on the path first walked by Jesus. It is in His name we pray. AMEN. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Claare

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