Wednesday - January 31, 2024

SCRIPTURE  1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. WORDS OF HOPE I remember a time when much of life was spent working with one’s hands. My mom sewed many of my clothes when I was little; she knit for charity; and, she made nearly all our meals from scratch…except for bread. My dad made the bread. He also tended a large vegetable garden that yielded most of the fresh produce that my family consumed. My recollection, nearly sixty years later, is that those were much simpler times. But how can that be with all those daily “chores?’” Many people today will tell you that they don’t have time to cook a basic meal, let alone cook every day and make homemade bread. Knitting and sewing have become hobbies, primarily for those with disposable income, rather than skills for everyday life. And growing our own food is out of the question for many due to space and cost. The example that my parents gave to me as a child has stuck with me. Today, the majority of my family’s meals are homemade. We make fresh bread and yogurt each week. Like my mom did, I knit. (Sadly, I do not sew my own clothes, but I do occasionally make quilts.) And gardening at our house is a family affair. Admittedly, I enjoy these things, both the process and the final products, but the benefits are far more than a final product. In the above letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says, “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” He follows this with, “you should mind your own business and work with your hands.” What I realized as an adult is that spending time working with my hands provides me with a great deal of quiet time, time that I can be in prayer and in communion with God. Minutes spent kneading bread, sewing a button on a shirt, even washing dishes by hand, provide moments that don’t require critical thinking skills but rather just being present to the task at hand. These are moments that occur multiple times each day, moments that we are invited to slow down and be quiet. What a gift, should we choose to accept it. This daily gift of quiet made possible through working with our hands does make a simpler life, and a life where we have more time and space for God. PRAYER Loving God, bless my hands. Help me to feel your presence in all that they touch and all that they do. I pray that the work of my hands leads me to that place of quiet where I can hear your voice and feel your touch. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE  2 Corinthians 4:8,9 We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. WORDS OF HOPE In this scripture, Paul, having experienced disappointment, prison, hunger, being forced out of town, and mocked for his beliefs, outlines four powerful contrasts that apply to struggles of everyday life. I recently spoke with someone who declared they were exhausted from fighting things alone, felt like the walls were closing in fast and was “throwing in the towel” with nowhere left to turn. When someone is really down hope seems so far away! Yet when we tire in our personal struggles it’s the perfect time to grip onto our relationship with God. There is a difference between giving up and surrendering. In boxing matches when the fight gets out of hand and the struggle to stand up becomes more difficult, the trainer steps forward, “throws in the towel”, as a symbol of surrender to save the fighter’s life. In Christian life when we “throw in the towel” it becomes a surrender where we are flooded with Gods amazing power. God doesn’t wait for us to be perfect before we are lifted and carried with grace through the word of faith. Instead, God meets us in our messy, scared places where we feel vulnerable and unworthy of love. When faced with great obstacles is the perfect moment to let Jesus Christ, our personal trainer “throw in the towel” and carry us back to safety. What may have felt like being shattered was actually training for transformation. So next time we say or hear the phrase we might consider it the action of being rescued instead of giving up. PRAYER Thank you Jesus my protector, trainer and guide for taking control when I fall the furthest and remind me peace is just a breath away when I surrender, let go and let God take control. Creator God, as we forget to surrender and stumble back into the ring, give us the wisdom to “throw in the towel” so Jesus can remind us of your unconditional, everlasting love!! In Jesus name, Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donna jackson

READING  “To everything (Turn, turn, turn) There is a season (Turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die, A time to plant, a time to reap, A time to kill, a time to heal, A time to laugh, a time to weep…” “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds, a song based on Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 WORDS OF HOPE At the Cathedral of Hope we are fortunate to be supported by the scaffolding of the liturgical seasons. Sr. Joan Chittister says of their function: “By taking us into the depth of what it means to be a human on the way to God—to suffer, to wonder, to know abandonment and false support, to believe and to doubt—the liturgical year breaks us open to the divine.” We begin by entering into Advent’s yearning and waiting in eager anticipation of the coming of Emmanuel, experience the birth of our light and Savior at Christmas and come to understand that we too are Christ-bearers in the world. In the Epiphany stories, we witness the manifestation of Jesus’ identity as the son of God. Lent brings us to a time of deep self-reflection, seeking to “return to God with all our hearts”, and we accompany Jesus in his betrayal, suffering and crucifixion. Easter breaks through in the glorious miracle of resurrection and the appearances of the risen Christ breathing peace into the frightened disciples. At Pentecost the power of the Holy Spirit descends in rushing wind and tongues of fire, transforming hearts and birthing the church. Finally, Ordinary time immerses us in the fullness of Jesus’ teachings and his works among the people. Using the 4 seasons of the year is another common way to describe the spiritual seasons of our lives. We live through seasons of interiority and quiet, seasons of letting go, seasons of planting, new life, seasons of gathering the harvest and going out into the world. Truly, when we look at our lives thoughtfully, prayerfully, we can discern “a time to every purpose under heaven.” We discover what Love can do, what Love is doing in our lives. Sometimes a spiritual season names itself more personally. The year before last the “season of the open heart” began to move in me during the first week of Lent and was intensely lived out for over a year. It did not “disappear” but some difficult and sudden life challenges have set up camp and claimed the center. Even this time, though, is not without its blessings and teachings. Perhaps you know a dry season, or a time of healing, a period of burgeoning creativity, or a time of letting go. Listening to the voice of the Spirit can identify the essence of the time. A blog by Hannah Brencher speaks of what the writer calls “manna seasons.” And I wonder if some of us don’t live in that place right now. Her understanding is based on the story of the Israelites wandering in the desert and grumbling that they will starve, saying that at least in Egypt they were fed. God meets them in their need and provides bread from heaven. Not the miracle of the loaves and fishes—but enough for their needs. The author asserts, “It’s proof to me that our seasons can swing wildly. One moment, we’re standing in abundance. The more-than-enough. The mountaintop. In another swoop, we’re swinging low. We’re bending to the ground to gather the manna. Just enough. Never more than the portion for that day…. I’m beginning to call them “manna seasons.” Seasons of just enough. Seasons of one day at a time. Seasons where you want the full ladder but you’re only getting the next rung.” What season are you in right now…What is God’s purpose unfolding in you? PRAYER Teach us, O God, to abide in you no matter the season of our lives, for in you is the life more abundant. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon

SCRIPTURE  Psalm 57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me; for it is in you that my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge." WORDS OF HOPE The above Psalm, like so many, have been attributed to David, the shepherd boy who became king. This particular verse references the time when the Israelite King Saul was hunting to kill the young warrior David who had sought refuge and hid in a distant cave. Like David’s world, sometimes the world around us may be turned upside down with dangerous threats and loss. We need a sure and safe refuge to anchor our lives and quiet the worries of our heart. The world may offer potential solutions or mind-numbing options, but David models for us the best solution for these moments of crisis... turn to God's loving care. You may hide under the protection of God wings and still get scratches and a nosebleed, but you won't end up mortally wounded! Consider, too, David’s reaction to an incident in his life recorded in I Chronicles 16:8-9: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on God's name, make God’s deeds known among the people. Sing, sing praises to God." After King David fought the Philistines and recaptured the Ark of the Covenant, he brought it safely back to Israelite territory and ordered celebrations. This verse begins a hymn of praise to God. Since then, many official statements and hymns have been composed to praise and thank God. But, what about your personal life experience? Is it filled with genuine thanksgiving to the Creator God? Each of us receives more blessings per hour than we can count. Do words of gratitude flow off your tongue giving thanks and praise to our Lord? Praising God's nature and love is the basis of our spiritual life. From ancient rabbinic literature it is said: "In the world to come, all sacrifice and offering will cease, but the sacrifice of thanksgiving will remain forever. All confessional statements will cease, but the confession of our thanksgiving to God will remain forever. Let it be so in our lives. May our days be filled with an acute awareness of God's blessings and may we experience a closer walk with the Divine One. PRAYER Lord God, as I journey through daily activities, may the multitude of these divinely inspired words help me to focus on your desires for my life. Keep me safe and on the right path with you. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE  Revelation 2. 9-11 I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. To the one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. WORDS OF HOPE Every time one of our daily lectionary readings is from the Book of the Revelation, I think about Martin Luther who was a vocal critic of many books of the Bible. He famously detested the Epistle of James, labeling it an "epistle of straw" due to its perceived lack of grace by emphasizing justification by faith. And the Book of Revelation! He just wanted to trash the whole thing. He saw it as a writing that was not Christ-centered at all, no gospel of love anywhere in sight, all about punishment, hatred and revenge. The Book is actually about the Roman Empire’s persecution that believers must endure due to their faith, full of metaphors about outrageous mythical tyrant beasts who finally burn forever in the pit of fire. The words of a brighter future in it, however, come when they are encouraged to remain faithful even to the point of death with the promise of eternal glory as a reward, emphasizing the assurance of security to believers. The “pie in the sky when you die” that was preached so often in some evangelical churches of my youth. Even though Martin Luther knew a lot of persecution himself, he just wasn’t buying it. It wasn’t speaking to his generation. He was right. Whenever we attempt to adapt some of the metaphors and monsters understood by the first century readers into warnings and predictions meant for our era, we have a problem. The bad guys in Revelation were the Roman Emperor and the corrupt leaders of their religious system, not the list of individuals we don’t like today, people we like to call Satan, the devil, or the Anti-Christ in our memes. The stories that keep modern Prophecy Seminars well-attended and profitable. The message I like to take from Revelation is not about the gospels of hatred and revenge, but the importance of faith in the worst of times, the faith that directs us to the gospel missing in the Book: the gospel of Love. PRAYER May love continue to bind us together, regardless of the trials and persecutions of our lives, and regardless of promises of future rewards for our faith, knowing that the true reward, the true comfort, is living that gospel of love this day. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Clare