SCRIPTURE Proverbs 22.1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. WORDS OF HOPE Greed is an inglorious miseducation which teaches us that the difference between less and more is our happiness. The assertion is that those with less are poor and that those with more are rich. Ironically, the acquisition of wealth is thought to lead one to happiness; however, endeavoring for wealth which cannot be enjoyed after one’s years are spent acquiring it is a bitter venture only realized by the time it is too late to get the time back. This is poverty: spending your whole life trying to get rich and gaining nothing but regrets and the desire for more time in the end. Our true wealth is the time we have to spend with the ones we love. We have time to discover the beauty of this world, to build relationships, and to leave this world better than we found it. None of these things require money to attain more than the requirement of our time. Happiness is inexpensive but time is priceless. Yet, for every one person who finds satisfaction there are nine hundred and ninety-nine who want more. This is blindness: there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, but people are dying of hunger. There are people who live modest lives. They may wear the same clothes every day and only eat what they can grow but are smiling from within out of an abundance of wealth that few understand. It is long overdue that humanity asked the honest question...why? Why do we need so much? We have the resources needed to meet the physical needs of every living person on Earth but lack the vision to make it happen. Jesus once warned us that it profits us nothing if in the end, we gain the world but lose our souls. PRAYER God our provider, Teach us not only to desire what we have, but also, to share what we have with others. Keep us from the path of confusion, and from trying to monopolize wealth and happiness. Grant this world the true riches of Your love. Let Your companionship be treasured far more than jewels. Help us, to not only see our own needs, but also, the needs of our neighbors. Bless You, for You provide all that we need and more than we desire. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jonathon McClellan Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE James 5. 1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. WORDS OF HOPE We hear a lot of discussion these days about enormous wealth verses the plight of the poor. The writer of the Book of James does not hold back in his condemnation of the lifestyle practiced by the worst of the selfish rich in his community. People who follow a faith- based lifestyle, rich or poor, are taught to do good, be honest and caring toward others without a thought of being given credit. Some people do a lot of good but always want to be recognized for their deeds. For example, they may give a sizable donation to build a homeless shelter, but they want their name attached to the project. They need to be recognized for their philanthropy. I am reminded of this gospel story: Jesus was sitting with his disciples in the Jerusalem Temple while people were passing by and placing money into the offering chest. Many rich people placed in large sums of money and their coins made lots of noise. Then a poor widow passed by and deposited two tiny copper coins, worth less than a penny today. In Mark12.41, Jesus commended the widow's generosity and told his disciples: "This poor widow has put in more than those who are rich. For they contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." Her gift to the offering didn't make noise as it fell into the treasury chest. Her offering came from a quiet and humble heart which acknowledged the goodness of God who was the foundation and source of her livelihood. Likewise, when we pray giving thanks for the love that we share with one another, we should also give praise for God's love. For God's goodness and love is the source of the Christian's expression of goodness to others. The goodness that we express is only a reflection of the pure goodness of God. PRAYER Gracious God, as I reflect on how I want to begin each new day of life with you and others, may I be more faithful and consistent in my life's witness to your redeeming love and care. Open my eyes to the opportunities which you will provide whereby I can help others find you as a rich source of comfort and guidance for their life. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE Matthew 24:23-24 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. WORDS OF HOPE Sometimes I think we are all looking for a Messiah, someone to come in and fix everything. And we want it to happen fast. Maybe that’s why politicians who claim to have all the answers seem so popular. After all, messiahs make everything so much easier. We can feel free to make a mess of our lives if we believe there is an easy fix. A “get out of jail, free” card. A magical solution to everything. We can feel free to continue to sully the earth and destroy the environment, as long as we believe some outside force will magically make everything better. Isn’t that what some preachers tell us? If I read the words of Jesus correctly, he never really says any of that, and he warns us of false Messiahs, prophets and tricksters. He doesn’t even claim that for himself. What he offers us is a way. A way of living and behaving that can bring heaven to earth. It is not cheap salvation, but a process that takes time and work and most of all an ethical compass that reminds us, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” PRAYER May we remember that we are God’s hands here on earth. May the words of Jesus guide our work and our lives that we may indeed bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman

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 Israelite King Saul was hunting to kill the young warrior David who had sought refuge and hid in a distant cave. Sometimes the world around us may be turned upside down with dangerous threats and loss. Like David, we too 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’s wings and still get scratches and a nosebleed, but you won't end up mortally wounded! In all things, give praise to God! In I Chronicles 16:8-9, we read: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on God's name, make God’s deeds known among the people. Sing, sing praises to God." David didn’t stay hidden in that cave. After he 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? What is your personal hymn of praise? Each of us receives more blessings per hour than we can count. Do thanks 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; equally, all confessional statements will cease, but the confession of our thanksgiving to God will remain forever." Let it be so in our lives. 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  Nehemiah 8. 2-4 So, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand…And he read from it facing the square … from early morning until midday, in the presence of the women and the men and all those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood all the Levite Priests. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it, all the people stood. WORDS OF HOPE All of us have heard a sermon, or perhaps many sermons, that have truly transformed our lives. The Bible, especially the Hebrew Scriptures, has its share of sermons, too. This one delivered by Ezra the scribe transformed the lives of an entire nation. And all he did was read aloud the Books of Moses. The people were profoundly changed by the Word of God. Nehemiah, the first Governor of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, likely recounted this Hebrew Scripture event as a first-hand witness. As a background to the story, the people, after many years in Babylonian captivity, had just returned to their homeland. Many of them had not had the opportunity to hear a reading of their own Holy Scriptures for decades. The young among them had never heard it. Ezra’s public reading was more in the nature of the headline act at a rock concert. A special stage had been constructed for the event and his backup vocals were a team of venerable Levites, the famous tribe of priests who could answer scripture questions on the spot. It was a Revival even beyond the level of the legendary Billy Graham Crusades from the middle of the last century. Ezra’s formula was one of faith in the power of the word when read aloud, accurately interpreted, and applied, to inspire spiritual renewal. He was building a cohesive community with a shared commitment to follow God's laws of mutual love. The event also reminds us that this was a time in the history of the children of Israel when their patriarchal society gave way to welcoming all women as well as young people who were old enough to understand the message. All were included. Some were shocked, saddened by their years of neglecting their own scriptures, but Ezra reminded them that the ultimate purpose of God's Words is to inform us of the salvation they bring. Today, we have the privilege of hearing God’s message read every Sunday at church, and being a literate society, every day in our own homes if we choose. The next time you are asked to please rise for the reading of the Gospel, remember that Ezra’s congregation stood from early morning until noon to hear the reading of God’s Word. In your own life, whether in church or during those voluminous conversations on social media, do you stand for the Word of God? PRAYER God of Salvation, may your Words always be our own Words and may they always be words of Hope. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE Job 38. 4-7 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? WORDS OF HOPE I love today’s excerpt from Job, with God as the divine architect laying out the Earth as a work of art. All of us can be artists, designers of our own lives. Some of us even do it for a living. For as long as I can remember, my artistic ideas usually didn’t come to me inspired by just one or two things. Life isn’t that way. I am blessed to come up with concepts I’ve been calling “idea clusters” for the last few years. Looking back, the first time this happened to me was probably while I was in the third grade. I had a formulaic idea of how to draw superheroes and fast cars. Superheroes dreams came out of watching multiple Saturday morning cartoons. Drawing race cars and hot rods was inspired by one called the Wacky Races. All were inspirations to create my own original concepts. The ideas flooded my brain, often well past my bedtime, and the sketches and lists began. I had such a strong inclination for getting the ideas down because I learned quickly if I let it go, the next morning I would have forgotten those inspirations. I’m still that way. Having ideas so strong that I need to keep detailed notes to make sure I could revisit after a deadline. In our very anthropomorphic concept of God, I’m in wonder at all the creation ideas that sprang forth, as if God wouldn’t be able to sleep until the ideas were manifested. But remember, God did rest on the Seventh Day! That’s more human and less Divine than I can get my head around. I don’t know how our world came to be. I’ve seen clusters of asteroids and meteors form planets and moons on the science channel. Theoretically, something had to manifest in the way of natural causes for these celestial bodies to form. Genesis defines it as Divine Creation. Science suggests that the raw material was stardust. Isn’t it humbling to imagine that we are literally made of Stardust? -Those clusters of particles that beg for a purpose from an almighty Creator. Raw materials in God’s idea clusters. Is Genesis somehow literal in saying humanity was made from dust? God’s stardust? It sounds prophetic, doesn’t it? Is that what happened? And here WE are…another miracle, God’s works of art in this thing called Creation. That’s probably enough to ponder for a day. What idea clusters do you have? Are you making a list? PRAYER Wonderous Creator, today, may I join the morning stars to sing together and shout for joy with the angels of the wonders of your Creation. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie C. Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE 1 Thessalonians: 5:18 “Give thanks in all things.” WORDS OF HOPE This Thanksgiving Day I am grateful for holy resistance. For all the ways we say NO to the forces of empire which seek to overwhelm us with one unjust edict after another, with one abuse of justice after another, with one attempt to silence free speech and peaceful protest after another. I give thanks for the myriad ways of resistance. For taking to the streets to cry NO KINGS, for cramming legislative halls with our bodies, for court filings, and for going to jail if that’s what it takes. But for the quieter ways of resistance too. For refusal to have our joy and our hope and our peace and our love stolen from us. Refusal to deny the holiness of our bodies, our identities, the spark of the divine in each of us. For God said, “You are good.” I give thanks for our grief which is a resistance to a culture so enslaved to production, to busyness that we are too often asked to suppress our sorrow, pull ourselves together and get back to work. For the grief which, even when complicated, honors the sacredness, depth, and everlasting connection of our relationships. For attending to our grief during the holidays, in resistance to succumbing to the expectations to overextend ourselves, to not setting healthy boundaries, to being silent about our loss, to not speaking their names. For resisting the Christian platitudes about grief we are offered—not out of intentional harm—but still harming in ignorance. I give thanks for those who help us resist—by making space for grief traditions at our tables, by inviting us to share a memory, by helping plant a tree in our loved one’s memory, or companioning a friend on her journey to scatter ashes if she wishes, by witnessing to our love and loss (and grief needs to be witnessed), By knowing now and forever that all grief is sacred. * This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for holy resistance. PRAYER Holy God, Cultivate in us all the ways of holy, healing, loving resistance. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon *For local support: Faith and Grief at Faithandgrief.org The following links offer insights into grief processing: Dr. Alan Wofelt: The Art of Cherishing During the Holidays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obimo3V6uLo David Kessler and Michelle Martin in conversation on processing grief in a world of constant crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4cr1BU7r-0

SCRIPTURE Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. WORDS OF HOPE Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, a day for gratitude and peace, but the peace of God does not exist in a time or place, is not defined by how we feel at any given moment but is the companion that travels with us on a journey with two roads. One road is traveled internally, and the other, externally. If peace existed in a specific time and place, then we could not exist outside of it. If peace were defined by how we feel, then we would have no reassurance when our feelings changed. Jesus promised to give us his peace, and at the same time, aforehand told us that we would face trials and tribulations. To understand that we can have peace with tribulation, we must first understand how the peace of God differs from human peace. God’s gift of peace is the reassurance of God’s presence in our lives. In essence, it is because of that presence that we do indeed have peace. The companionship of the Christ, Spirit, and God’s loving hands that covers us bear fruit in us unto peace. This great love works in our lives fulfilling God’s purpose to prosper us. It is not limited nor temporary. Even in the depths of despair, God our peace, is with us. Our helper leads us to victory over the battles we fight every day in our hearts. When winds of change blow like a hurricane all around us, our God is a mighty defense. On the inside, we must choose every day whether to love ourselves, forgive our enemies, and often, trust in what we cannot see. God is speaking to our hearts every day and we must choose to listen or not to listen. On the outside, we face a world that with each revolution brings new trouble. God does not always prevent trouble from happening to us but strengthens us when it does. Trails may come but God has overcome. It is because of our relationship with our Creator that we can have the peace of God. Truly, our peace never leaves, for God is everywhere. PRAYER God our peace, Bless You, for being with us when we could not see You and for never letting us travel alone. Praise You, for You command the storms in the world and in our hearts to be still. By Your companionship, we are mighty conquerors. In Your loving arms, we are at peace. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jonathon McClellan Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

SCRIPTURE 2 Thessalonians 3:13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. WORDS OF HOPE I often dismiss my college level classes by telling my students to “go out and do the next right thing.” It used to be that this statement was more about making good choices than actually knowing what was right. The other day, a student, who had heard me say this to the class many times, was the last to leave. They waited around to ask me, “How do I really know what is right?” The current climate of life in our country, amplified by the influence of social media, most certainly has blurred our perception of right and wrong and good and evil. My friends have an older neighbor who fell ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. The neighbor lives alone with two dogs. My friends and other neighbors stepped up to make sure that the dogs were cared for by someone actually taking them into their home. Others maintained the yard and did a much-needed cleaning of the home’s interior so that it was welcoming upon their return. Most people would consider these as acts of care and kindness. Unfortunately, that was not the case in this situation. The recipient of these intended acts of goodness was angry at everything that had been done. “The yard didn’t need to be whacked down to dead twigs. The dogs didn’t need to be groomed. I was going to clean the house when I got home.” My student’s question about how do we really know what is right suddenly became more momentous. As a follower of Christ, I have always believed that Jesus tells us, in Matthew 7:12, exactly what doing good looks like— “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”. Seems simple, but based on my friends’ experience, it’s not. What do we do when what we thought was good and right is not perceived as such? Or, the contrary, when what we see as not right is perceived as good? Paul’s letter to the Romans has an answer for us. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) As you go about your days, pray for guidance, be an example of peace and love to the world, and go forth and do the next right thing. PRAYER Loving God, guide my words and actions as I greet this new day. Grant me courage and strength to move through my day showing kindness, patience, and love to others and to myself. Teach me to always be a reflection of your goodness. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare