Wednesday - May 20, 2026

SCRIPTURE  1 Peter 4:1-2, 8 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God… Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. WORDS OF HOPE Peter originally wrote this letter to believers facing persecution, a scenario that’s still so relatable for many of us. He essentially tells us that experiencing hardships in life means we’re doing it right. It echoes what Jesus said in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” These biblical messages are refreshing because they are the direct opposite of the world’s messages, which often prioritize ease and comfort over struggle. I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on the words of Peter and Jesus. Really let them sink in. How do they make you feel in your body? For me, they feel like tension releasing from my shoulders and jaw. Like remembering to stop holding my breath. Tomorrow, I’ll find out if I’m one of the thousands of people who will be laid off at my company. The reasons are intentionally vague, and algorithms will likely make the final decisions. This world of “evil human desires” often reduces our humanity to expendable names and numbers on spreadsheets. I could wallow in anger or discouragement, but I choose to focus on how this experience can bring me closer to “the will of God.” If you’re facing similar hardships, my heart is with you. Please remember to be kind to yourself and to the people in your life. Framing love as an action verb that we constantly return to is our greatest strength and will always produce the most meaningful rewards. PRAYER Lord, thank you for calling me to love. Please help me anchor to Your love, especially in times of suffering. Work through me to extend lovingkindness to every person in my life. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Logan Alexander Johnson

SCRIPTURE  Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because God has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. READING If the poor, the women and the dispossessed sat at the tables where theological decisions are made, there would be a different set of sins. -Sister Joan Chittister WORDS OF HOPE At the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus is in the synagogue, and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah is handed to him. He finds the place where the prophet proclaims that the spirit anoints him to proclaim good news to the poor, to set prisoners free, to give sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed free. Jesus then shocks the room by saying “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. In that declaration, Jesus frames his ministry not in power, but those who are excluded from power. Sin is reframed not as a personal failure, but as neglect or harm toward the vulnerable. Jesus proclaims that the marginalized define faithfulness and even religious decision-making spaces are critiqued when they exclude or diminished the disregarded. If that quote from Sister Joan Chittister smacks you between the eyes, perhaps we can reconsider who sits at the table when we name sin and discern what is right. Too often, those conversations happen among the comfortable, the secure, and the well-resourced. Yet Scripture consistently shows that God’s perspective emerges most clearly from the margins. When those who struggle—the poor, women, and the dispossessed—are absent, our vision narrows. We begin to call acceptable what harms, and overlook what truly breaks God’s heart. What would happen if the guests at BACH or iCARE were at the table of deciding what is sin and harmful? How would our churches be different if black and brown and native peoples were to speak truth in seminaries and Sunday School classrooms? And would we listen and adapt, or would we have our feelings hurt or comment about their tone? Are the voices of women being seriously considered or are they asked to be ‘patient’ and not make anyone uncomfortable? What about trans children whose medical care is being denied? Can those who speak in Central American Spanish or Haitian pull up a chair? The invitation here is not merely to listen, but to make space, to shift perspective, and, in so doing, to be transformed. And can we hear that summons honestly, even though it can hurt or sound harsh? For when those long silenced are finally heard, we may discover that God has been speaking through them all along—and that the path toward justice begins by pulling up more chairs. PRAYER God of good news, open our ears to hear your voice in those long silenced, and widen our tables to reflect your justice and mercy. Transform our hearts, that we may name sin truthfully, stand with the vulnerable, and follow you in liberating love. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs

SCRIPTURE Micah 6:8 God has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? WORDS OF HOPE Faith, Love, and Boundaries  I had a conversation with a woman who came to see me about anxiety but was really asking questions of theology. She believed that to be Christian meant that you must be nice to everyone, no matter how they behaved. She believed that being Christian meant never speaking up for yourself or others, never disagreeing or offering a different opinion, and overlooking other’s bad behavior. The most insipid, diminutive, ridiculous representation of what it means to follow Jesus can be found in three words: Always be nice. The world is not always a nice place. People can be selfish and cruel. Injustice and brutality are as real as poverty and homelessness. Loving Jesus is about following Christ’s example of loving God and others and living out what the prophet Micah described as God’s requirement: “To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” A life that reflects the principled character and leadership of Jesus demonstrates it through gratitude and compassion, humility and service, generosity and self-sacrifice, integrity and—when called for—righteous indignation. Justice must at times be fought for and such struggle demands action. Jesus overturned tables and showed up at the Temple with a whip! (Matthew 21:12-13) The Apostle Paul described the fruit of the spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) That does not imply a milquetoast existence of passive timidity, nor does it mean never speaking up or speaking out. Paul’s own powerful witness reflects the passion and courage of an abiding faith in God’s desire for justice and righteousness. Life demands boundaries. Relationships require guard rails. Not all behavior is acceptable. Just as loving parents confront and correct their children when they stray, it is a loving act to intervene in addiction, confront harmful actions, and speak truth to abuse of power. There is a reason a shepherd carries a staff with a crook. It is not only to lean on, but to correct and defend. PRAYER Save us, O God, from puny faith, feeble living, and pathetic discipleship that bears no resemblance to the courageous passion of Jesus. May we demonstrate love with boundaries that we might contain our whims and call out true harm. May it be so. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Rev. Dr. Gary Kindley Pastoral Psychotherapist drgk.org

SCRIPTURE  Exodus 3: 1-4. Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” WORDS OF HOPE This morning Sage did her famous “flop” on the lawn of one of her favorite neighbors to give her aching legs a rest. While she lay sniffing the vibrant spring grass, my eyes turned upward, captured by the family of Mississippi Kites who have been roosting in the high branches of our oak trees. Their dove grey bodies wheeled in arcs, catching the wind currents, light in their flight. The adult male and female approached each other, then swept off into separate curves, and all three came to circular formation again and again. I stayed to watch for some time, honoring a voice which sounded days ago: ATTEND. Delight and awe were the gifts of this sacred pause. I am coming to believe that attending, being in full presence with nature or another person or in contemplation is an important spiritual practice—particularly in our habitually distracted world. In fact, Simone Weil, French philosopher, mystic, and political activist, asserted that “absolutely unhurried attention is the same thing as prayer.” Terry Tempest Williams, award winning writer and naturalist, concurs, and in a recent speech, she illustrates “attending” through an experience in her Utah red desert home. After a series of floods had swept through the former drought-stricken landscape, they carved out a new canyon 30 feet long, 12 feet high, 10 feet across. Following a path through the shadows toward the new formation for about 30 minutes, she saw cutaway portions of the earth—like the slice of a geod—and black specks from a distance. Coming closer, she discerned that it was a cross section of an anthill and the ants were disposing of their dead. Following on their action, stink beetles came to make a meal of them, only for them to become sustenance for ravens. Was this a scene of destruction or transformation? Witnessing it, absorbed fully in the experience, Williams felt like she was in a sacred room for the holy ordinary. Relationally, attending is crucial in establishing real connection and care. Too often in our encounters with others we are not fully present—absorbed in our own thoughts or our phones or impending responsibilities or worries or thinking about what we will say next. When on the receiving end of this unengaged posture, it is easy to feel dismissed, unimportant, hurt. In contrast, our whole presence with another is an act of generosity, authentic recognition, and respect. And oh what holy ground we walk when we meet in that space. Moses turned away from what he was doing and truly beheld the burning bush, witnessing its beauty and mystery. In doing so he hears the voice of God calling. May we too remember that every day the sacred is calling if only we take time to see and hear. PRAYER Open us, O God, to the sacredness of all life and let us come alive witnessing it with full presence. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dr. Pat Saxon

SCRIPTURE Matthew 19:14 NKJV But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” WORDS OF HOPE The Wisdom of a Child Most people would say that Tabitha was too young to understand. She was three, and a three-year-old is not expected to understand the hardness of life yet. Tabitha’s mother was a single parent who worked three jobs just to afford the daycare and a small apartment in the ghetto. Every day, despite the five hours of sleep on weekdays and seven hours of sleep on weekends, Tabitha’s mother woke up tired. The only toy that Tabitha had to play with was an old brown baby doll. Her mother was embarrassed that she could not get her a real toy and not some mud-stained doll with tears on the fringes of its dress. Yet even though the makeup on the doll was fading and one could hardly make out its smile anymore, Tabitha loved the doll so much that her mother could not tell whether Tabitha knew it was not a real baby. Tabitha liked to hold the baby doll close to her little chest and sing it the same lullaby her mother sang to her. Then, she would tuck the doll into bed, whisper, “I love you baby,” and kiss it on the forehead before getting tucked into bed herself. That Christmas, Tabitha’s mother had planned something very special. She had saved up enough money to get her daughter a beautiful new doll. It was the best that money could buy and could easily be mistaken for a real baby from a distance. When Christmastime came around, Tabitha woke up and immediately looked for her baby, but she could not find it anywhere. Her mother was holding the new doll in shiny apple red wrapping paper. “Here’s your baby!” she explained and handed the present to her daughter. Tabitha eagerly unwrapped her gift, but when she saw that the doll was not the same doll that she had tucked into bed every night for a year, she was confused.  With tears in her eyes, Tabitha started pleading for her baby. Confused, her mom began to wonder where she went wrong. That was when she searched her heart and came to a conclusion. How would she feel if someone took Tabitha away and tried to give her someone else, telling her that this little girl was better? She went to the closet and pulled out Tabitha’s old torn doll and gave it back to her. Again, Tabitha held her baby doll close to her chest, and with joy in her heart, sang mommy’s favorite lullaby. In the end, Tabitha’s mother just laughed realizing that at some point she began measuring worth, something her daughter had not yet learned to do...and perhaps, it was Tabitha who really understood all along. PRAYER Loving God, Teach us that joy is valuable but does not have to be expensive. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Jonathon McClellan Order of St. Francis and St. Clare