SCRIPTURE  Exodus 2:1-10 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews ’children, ’she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes’. So, the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. ’So, the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and she took him as her son. She named him Moses,‘ because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ WORDS OF HOPE While I am normally a great lover of irony, today’s passage from Exodus and the current state of the world, have an irony that I wish I did not have to see. Many things about the passage stand out in comparison with the world today. A family seeks refuge for their young son who has been born into a situation where the authorities (Pharaoh) are trying to destroy the firstborn sons of the Hebrews, because they have become so numerous. The irony comes in that refuge was found in the very household of the Pharaoh. As no doubt, we all know, this son of the Hebrews becomes like a son to the Pharaoh. He bears no outer characteristics that make it impossible for him to advance in the Egyptian hierarchy. Pharaoh's sister has no problem seeking out and finding the Hebrew mother of this child in order that she can suckle him. And so today, in the Middle East for example, we find that still in that part of the world (and too many others) conflict is still happening often for much the same reason; there are too many of them there. And no doubt if we were able to look deeply into the events of those places, we would find people who, like the Pharaoh's daughter ,are taking in anyone from either side who needs help. And if by some chance, you know someone in one of those places or anywhere in this troubled world, use the miracle of technology to greet them, to let them know you care. Perhaps that will encourage them to do the same. Perhaps that will spill over to people in places where personal communication can preserve peace. PRAYER Hello God. I greet You today and ask that You bring a heart for peace to everyone everywhere. May they learn that the simplest acts such as a simple greeting, can make the world You have given us a better place. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare