Wednesday - January 31, 2024

SCRIPTURE Psalms 78 (The Inclusive Bible) “Listen, my people, to this teaching; open your hearts to wisdom. I will share stories and sacred mysteries, wisdom passed down through generations. We will share these stories with those who follow, proclaiming the wonders of the Holy One, the power of Divine Love, and the sacred wisdom of our ancestors.” WORDS OF HOPE Sesame Street Day Today is Sesame Street Day, and I have a confession to make: I was raised on the street—Sesame Street, that is. As a toddler, I didn't know I was receiving an education. I thought I was watching television. But there was Sesame Street, teaching me my ABCs and 123s, colors and shapes, counting and patterns, words and eventually how to tell time. A triangle had three sides. Numbers could be fun. Learning could involve singing, dancing, monsters, cookies, and the occasional very large yellow bird. And somewhere between “one, two, three” and “A, B, C,” I was learning something else: how to be a human being. Sesame Street gave me a vocabulary for feelings. Happy. Sad. Angry. Scared. Confused. It taught me that feelings weren't something to be ashamed of or shoved into a closet. They could be named, shared, listened to, and worked through. It taught me friendship, sharing, taking turns, helping others, making mistakes, apologizing, and trying again. PBS gave me other teachers, too. I loved Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Fred Rogers reminded children that their feelings mattered, that they mattered, and that someone was willing to listen. I still try to strive to be a little more like Mister Rogers—to slow down, listen carefully, notice who is being left out, and make room. Then there was Arthur, teaching me about friendship, family, disagreements, mistakes, and growing up. And Bob Ross, painting happy little trees and quietly teaching me that a mistake doesn't have to destroy the canvas. Sometimes you can turn it into something beautiful. Looking back, these weren't merely children's programs. They were some of my earliest teachers in curiosity, empathy, creativity, patience, imagination, and wonder. Apparently, some of my earliest theology came from PBS. Now I get to watch Sesame Street with my nephew, Maverick. Seeing him discover the same neighborhood that captivated me decades ago feels almost like watching the toddler I once was sitting beside the uncle I've become. And then there is that question: “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” When I was little, it was simply the beginning of a television show. In 2026, it sounds almost like a prayer. How do we get to a world where LGBTQIA+ children know they are loved—not merely tolerated? Where disabled people aren't treated as afterthoughts? Where children of different races, cultures, religions, languages, and families can look around and say, “I see myself here”? Where immigrants and refugees are recognized as human beings carrying names, stories, families, dreams, and sacred worth? Maybe Sesame Street has been showing us the way all along. Look at that neighborhood. Big Bird is big. The Count loves counting. Snuffy is unmistakably Snuffy. Cookie Monster is, well, Cookie Monster. And somehow, they all belong. The neighborhood has welcomed guests like Michelle Obama, Elton John, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel. And honestly, I would like to be there, too. I want to walk down the street, sit on the stoop with Big Bird, share a snack with Cookie Monster, and maybe bring coffee. Although Cookie Monster may have other priorities. Nobody has to become less of themselves to belong. Maybe that's why this feels theological to me. Jesus spent so much time widening the definition of neighbor. The Good Samaritan wasn't exactly a lesson in keeping the neighborhood comfortable. Your neighbor isn't necessarily someone who looks like you, believes like you, worships like you, or lives like you. Sometimes your neighbor is the person you were taught to overlook. The street gets wider. The circle gets wider. The table gets wider. Perhaps that's what I want to remember from the child I once was: stay curious. Childlike, not childish. Ask questions. Say, “I don't know.” Listen before judging. Be amazed. Leave room for the possibility that the world is bigger than the little box you've been handed. Maybe getting to Sesame Street isn't about finding a place on a map. Maybe it's about becoming the kind of people who build that street wherever we are. A place where everyone can say: “I belong here.” PRAYER Loving God, Mother of mercy and Source of wonder, teach us to see the world with children's curiosity and the courage to pursue justice. Help us build neighborhoods where every child is cherished, every difference is treated with dignity, and nobody must earn love. Give us Mister Rogers' gentleness, Bob Ross's imagination, and the courage to stand beside those pushed aside. May our homes, churches, classrooms, and communities become places of welcome, laughter, learning, and radical love. When we forget the way, remind us that building a wider neighborhood begins with how we treat one another. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Reed Kirkman

SCRIPTURE  Ephesians 2:8–9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. WORDS OF HOPE I love sweet surprises! We sure got one this year during our anniversary weekend. We went to Tyler, Texas for a little getaway. We actually celebrate two anniversaries. Our "real" anniversary is October 5, 1991. It is when we had our Holy Union in our townhouse in Arlington, Texas with only five people. We did not tell a lot of people. Gay "weddings" or Holy Unions were not well accepted in 1991. We did not dare ask our pastor at our Methodist church where we were members to perform our Holy Union! A friend knew a guy from the "gay church in Dallas!" We NEVER DREAMED in 1991 that OUR marriage could ever be legal! But for us it was real. Along came 2015 and "gay" marriage became legal! So, we had the wedding of our dreams with almost 400 people at "that gay church" in Dallas where we were members! October 5th was a Monday, so we had this legal wedding on October 3rd, a Saturday. So now we have two anniversaries! That does not have a lot to do with our surprise in Tyler. It just gives you some background. AND I seldom miss a chance to tell our wonderful story! On the day between our anniversaries, we went to the Tyler Zoo and then to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We had a very nice waitress. She was friendly and we could not resist telling her we were in Tyler to celebrate our anniversaries even though East Texas is not always the most accepting place. We also asked for special lesbian privilege. The WNBA playoffs were going on, and we wanted one of the many TVs to be turned to show the women's game. The head bartender made that happen and then stopped at our table to visit and discuss WNBA. We told him we were season ticket holders for the Dallas Wings. I am not sure we told him we were in town celebrating our anniversaries. He stopped by to visit a couple of times. When it was time to leave, we told our kind server we were ready for our bill. She informed us that our bill had already been paid! She said by another guest, but I wonder if one or both of our attentive staff were responsible! I was totally blown away! Talk about unmerited grace! No one had ever done that for us before who did not know us. It just felt like the sweetest gift! We gave our server a very nice tip and told her how grateful we were! And gave her a big hug when we left! That is how God's love is! Amazing, unexplainable, wonderful love that we do not deserve. PRAYER Amazing God, thank you for always giving me your amazing grace and love and for sending unexpected people and moments to remind me that even when our world seem so divided, there are still those all around in the most unexpected places who show us how good life is! DEVOTION AUTHOR Jan Nunn, Cathedral of Hope Volunteer

SCRIPTURE  John 8:6b-8 Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. WORDS OF HOPE Having raised a daughter and a non-binary child, there were several times when my parental instincts and my feminism and allyship clashed. This happened frequently during their middle school and high school years. Often, I found myself unlearning the man I was taught to be. As a feminist, I wanted to raise children who were outspoken and independent, who took ownership of their choices, and who weren't afraid to challenge a misogynistic culture. However, I learned, sometimes rather harshly, that raising independent children means accepting that they won't always agree with me or follow my perfectly good advice. Never was this struggle more real than when it came to the clothing they chose to wear. When they walked into the room wearing something revealing, provocative, gender-bending, or simply different, decades of cultural conditioning came rushing back. I believed they deserved autonomy over their bodies and the freedom to express themselves. Yet, there I was, struggling to practice what I believed. In John 8, religious leaders set a theological trap for Jesus. Men stood ready to stone a woman to death because they accused her of adultery. And there was Jesus, drawing in the dirt (what WAS he drawing, anyway?). But notice what Jesus didn't do. He didn't say a word to the woman about what she was wearing, how she got there, or what she might have done to deserve this. Instead, Jesus turned the attention back to the men holding the stones. He made them take a good, hard look at themselves. Too often, our instinct is to ask someone to change their behavior rather than confront the culture that makes us uncomfortable. Sadly, many Christians have become quite skilled at using scripture as a weapon to police everyone else's behavior while conveniently overlooking their own. But Jesus was radically serious about self-examination. Remember the plank in your own eye before worrying about the speck in someone else's? He was repeatedly gentle with those who recognized their shortcomings and remarkably harsh toward those who considered themselves righteous enough to judge others. All people deserve safety and respect, regardless of what they wear. No one should have to make themselves smaller, less visible, or less expressive to accommodate someone else's discomfort. I had to learn that my discomfort wasn't necessarily evidence that my children were doing something wrong. Sometimes it was evidence that I still had some unlearning to do. Perhaps that's the challenge of this story. It's easy to identify with the woman surrounded by judgmental people. It's much harder to recognize ourselves among the men holding stones. Jesus didn't ask the woman to make herself more acceptable to the men holding the stones. He asked the men to examine themselves. Maybe that's where our own unlearning begins. PRAYER Mother, Father, non-binary God, help us recognize the judgments and assumptions we carry, especially those we have mis-taken for love, protection, or righteousness. Give us the humility to examine our own hearts before questioning the choices of others. Teach us to put down our stones and honor the sacred worth of every person. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs

SCRIPTURE  Luke 22:47-53 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as though I were a rebel? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness!” WORDS OF HOPE To begin, I need to point out that the above passage of scripture is one of three versions of this particular story. In the gospel of John, it specifically named Peter as the one who draws his sword; and Malchus as the one who is struck. In Matthew’s version is the famous “those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” Matthew also tells us that that disciple abandoned Jesus when he was arrested. I chose this particular one because it is the only one in which Jesus heals the man who is struck. Today is the International Day Against Violence and Bullying. And when I read about this day this passage, or rather all of these passages, dealing with Jesus’s arrest, came to mind. Clearly violence is here in the passage. A sword is drawn, a person is struck; but Jesus admonishes his followers that violence is not the answer. And he then heals the wound. Bullying is here too in all three versions. It clearly states that a crowd approaches Jesus, not just the high priest, his servants, or temple guards alone. In my mind, this is a form of bullying. Those who have come to arrest Jesus want to make sure that his followers can be contained. They want to make sure that Jesus is intimidated. That of course does not work on Jesus because Jesus knows what is to come. But as Matthew tells us; “you worked on the disciples.” So, what can we take from this and use in our own lives? Though it is hard to stand up to a bully or bullies; if we know where we come from, and we know where we’re going, and we are certain of our place in God; we can be more like Jesus. We can be more like the disciples were after the Pentecost. We can stand against violence and bullying. And just as Jesus does with Malchus we can bring healing to those we see who are bullied. PRAYER Great God, you have commanded that we love one another. Bring us to that place of love in whatever circumstances we find ourselves so that we may project that love to all around us so that those who would harm us or try to intimidate us are rendered powerless. And bring us in that love to a place where we neither commit violence nor try to intimidate others so that we may truly and follow the Way of Jesus. DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker. Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clair

READING “Just because it's common sense, doesn't mean it's common practice.” - Will Rogers WORDS OF HOPE Today is “Use Your Common Sense Day” and also the birthday of humorist Will Rogers. His observations and many columns for the New York Times in the 1930’s still endure as delightful skewers of the famous and the infamous of the era. One of the things that made his humor so endearing was his ability to cut through the clutter of the news and political rhetoric and get to the underlying truth which was often the seed of the humor itself. He was particularly poignant when it came to his views on religion. He wrote this quote around the time of the Scopes trial in Tennessee. “The Lord put all these millions of people over the earth. They don’t all agree on how they got here, and ninety percent don’t care. But He was pretty wise when He did see to it that they all do agree on one thing. (whether Christian, Heathen, or Mohammedan) and that is that the better lives you live the better you will finish.” If that’s not great common sense, I don’t know what is. PRAYER May we all use our God-given common sense when faced with difficult times. Sometimes that means doing what Will Rogers suggested, “The best way out of a difficulty is through it.” Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman