Daily Scripture and Devotions October 2025 Safe Harbor Presbyterian Church

October 1, 2025:  Bath-Sheba – The Beautiful One – 11 Samuel 11:1b-4 – In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him;…But David remained in Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon when David rose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Elam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

Bath-Sheba’s story does not begin with these verses, but everything changes in her life as a result of them. Often in the centuries after her life, she has been portrayed as a seductress, as being at fault in what happens next. There is no biblical warrant for that. We know that she was born into a religiously faithful family and was married to one of King David’s great soldiers and leaders, Uriah. When we look at today’s verses we see immediately that something is very wrong. It is spring and David is at war, but he has not gone out to battle with his soldiers as one would expect. He has stayed home for reasons we do not know. Perhaps it was those reasons that led him to wander on the parapet of his royal house on this fateful night. He sees the beautiful Bath-Sheba bathing on the roof at dusk, as was the custom in those days. He is immediately overcome by his desire for her and sends his men to find out who she is and bring her to him, which they do. He then has sex with her. We do not hear her voice in the story, although it would have made no difference. She had no voice. She had no say. What the King wanted, the King took. We don’t hear from her until she discovers she is pregnant by the encounter, a potential death sentence with her husband off at the front. She sends word to David at which point he panics and devises several schemes to bring Uriah home to his wife to disguise the child’s parentage. Those schemes fail as Uriah has been consecrated to battle, and the law forbade sex during that time. So, David has Uriah sent to the front lines where he is killed. When the mourning period was over, he sent for Bath-Sheba and made her a wife. Bath-Sheba’s child dies. David is overcome with remorse, but we are not telling his story today. We are telling hers. She becomes David’s favorite wife and the mother of four of his sons. One of her sons with David was Solomon. When David was old and feeble she advocated for Solomon to become David’s heir and next king. There was a lot of palace intrigue in that negotiation. Yet she comported herself with grace, savvy and wisdom. She was a strong force in David’s life and Jewish tradition holds that she recited the lovely virtues of a good wife found in Proverbs 31 to her son Solomon at the time of his first marriage. While probably not historically true, it does give us a feel for how honored a place she came to hold in the hearts of her people over time. She is listed in Matthew 1:6 in the genealogy of Jesus. Today think about Bath-Sheba. Have you ever experienced helplessness as a result of the choices of those more powerful than you? Have you ever found yourself being type cast by your appearance? Have you ever found that your own grief was truncated by the decisions of others? How have you experienced turning around a terrible situation and making a good out of it? Has the genuine remorse of someone who has harmed you ever helped you to truly forgive and start over? If so, you have shared a bit of Bath-Sheba’s story. Ponder today how you may find a new start after a horrible circumstance. Remember God always wills you well and whole, no matter what others do.

Prayer: Dear God, help us to remember that we are not defined by our past experiences. While we may be helpless in some cases, you never are. In that we place our trust. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen. 

October 2, 2025:  Two mothers of Solomon’s Time – 1 Kings 3:16-38 – Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

We do not know the names of these two women. All we are told of them by way of identity is that they were both prostitutes living in the same home. Both became pregnant and apparently delivered their babies only three days apart. Like many tiny infants, the two looked a lot alike. One infant was killed during the night when his mother rolled over on him in bed. She snuck up and replaced her dead child with the living child of the other woman. The real mother instantly knew what had happened and went to King Solomon for justice. Solomon calls the other woman and a ‘she said verses she said’ situation followed. Solomon looked at the two women and the one child who was being held by the thief mother. Only recently he had prayed that God would give him an understanding heart to discern between good and bad. He needed it! What fear must have filled the heart of the true mother and what grief the heart of the imposter! Anyone else might have dismissed the case for lack of real evidence, but Solomon stood up and brandished his sword and said, “Divide the child in half and give one half to one and the other half to the other.” The child’s mother immediately, instantly replied, “Give her the living child and in no way slay it.” The other mother said, “Divide it.” Whereupon it was plain to Solomon who was the real mother. Her child was returned to her. Think today about both of these mothers. Have you ever known such overwhelming grief and jealousy that you would do just about anything to escape the pain of it? Have you ever suffered so much that your heart became hard to the suffering of others? Have you ever felt so lost that others were no longer real to you, only objects for your use? If so you know a bit about the imposter mother. On the other hand, have you ever had to fight for justice for someone you loved? Have you ever had to release someone you loved for their own sake? Have you ever loved someone so much that you let them go, even when you believed they were not going into good hands? Who have been the wise judges in your life when conflict or tragedy tore things apart? If you know a bit about those experiences then you know a bit about this real mother. Ask God today, as Solomon did, to give you an understanding mind and the capacity to discern love when you see it.

Prayer: God of Wisdom and Love, in tumultuous times when tragedy lurks, help us to turn to you for wise counsel. Boldly, we ask that you will also bring us wise friends and counselors who truly see and can lead us. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 3, 2025:  The Queen of Sheba – She Came to See for Herself – 1 Kings 10:1- When the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon (fame due to the name of the Lord), she came to test him with riddles.

This fascinating woman stands out as the first reigning queen on record to pit her wits and wealth against those of a king. Sheba was a kingdom in the southwestern portion of Arabia. It was a kingdom in which women in almost every respect were viewed as the equals of men with the same civil, religious and even military functions. This queen’s story in scripture revolves around a probable trade mission that she undertakes to negotiate with King Solomon. Scholars assume that she was successful in her mission as it is almost immediately afterwards that Solomon expands his commercial dealings. She made the approximately 1200-mile journey from Sheba to Jerusalem on a camel caravan. For this lengthy journey, her camel was decked out with gold and precious jewels. The caravan is described in 1 Kings 10:2 as a very great train, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. The gift of gold she brought to Solomon would today have been valued in many millions of dollars. This was no doubt good public relations, and she was also without a doubt, a savvy business woman and ruler. But there was more to this trip than a trade mission. She had heard of the wealth and wisdom of Solomon. She didn’t believe it until she saw it with her own eyes. She was impressed not just with the grandeur and elegance of his palace but also with his ability to answer questions with wisdom and assurance. She responds to him with the words, “Blessed by the Lord your God.” Early Jewish writers taught that this was an indication of her conversion to the worship of Israel’s God. That may be wishful thinking. Many legends surround this woman, including that she had a love affair with Solomon that issued in a son named Menelek who was thought to migrate with his followers to what is now Ethiopia. The royal house there claims descent from Solomon. There is no warrant for this in the bible itself. Other fantastic stories about her journey to visit King Solomon are included in Sura 27 of the Koran. Today think about the Queen of Sheba. Have you ever needed to see something for yourself in order to trust that it is true? Have you ever experienced a time when you set off with one purpose only to find that you found something much more profound and satisfying? Not all wealth is used for good. Have you ever seen great wealth used for good for others? In what ways have you been a negotiator between diverse people? Have you ever used your resources in order to gain favor only to find that you got far more than you gave? If so you know a bit about the Queen of Sheba. Remember that God is always at work in whatever you bring to life!

Prayer: Gracious God, most of us are not wealthy. Many of us struggle day to day. Even so, help us today to see the bounty of our lives and world and to approach each day with curiosity and wonder. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 4, 2025:  Jezebel – The Baal Worshipper Who Will Stop at Nothing 1 Kings 21:5 – His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?”

Jezebel’s name is synonymous with wickedness. She was the daughter of the King of her native country of Zidonia and a worshipper of the religion of that area, Baal. We don’t know the details of this religion and the word Baal has a number of meanings. Sometimes it refers to any god other than the God of Israel. Other times it seems to refer to a particular religious practice most often identified as a fertility religion. In any case, Jezebel married King Ahab, a rather week but not entirely ineffective ruler of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel. She was the daughter of a king, wife of a king, mother and grandmother of kings. She is primarily remembered as a strong-willed woman whose ways and religion stood in competition to the ways and rule of Israel’s God. Baal worship was connected with temple prostitution as a way of insuring fertility and abundance as well as sacrifices to control the weather. One of Baal’s consorts, Asherah was the goddess of love, and her temple became associated with all manner of vice. Ahab, trying to be inclusive and, no doubt, trying to keep the peace at home, allows for this more pluralistic religious culture in his kingdom leading him and his wife into conflict with the greatest prophet of the day, Elijah. It was said that on occasion Jezebel entertained as many 450 priests of Baal at the palace. It was this permitting of pluralism that soiled Ahab’s name in the minds of faithful Israelites. Jezebel was in many ways stronger than her husband and seems to dominate him. She insists on the extermination of the Lord’s prophets and the desecration of shrines. This, among many actions that outraged him, led Elijah to challenge the priests of Baal to bring rain after a drought. They failed. Elijah succeeded. This so infuriated Jezebel that she sought Elijah’s death. Things only got more complicated after that. She continued to rule from her great ivory palace with its commanding tower from which she could view the lands. After her contract killing of Naboth, a faithful Israelite from whom her husband wanted to by a vineyard, Elijah was outraged as were many of the citizens. Elijah predicted her brutal death and that of her husband. She ignored the warnings and continued defiantly on her path. In due time Elijah’s prophecies came true. She outlived her husband by about ten years. When she knew that she was about to be overthrown, she dressed in her finest gowns and went to the tower where she saw Jehu’s army approach. At his order, her own attendants threw her from the tower to her death below where the wild dogs ate her. Her offspring carried on her ways. She had such an influence that her name became synonymous with seduction and idolatry. Think today about Jezebel. In what ways have you seen power and zealotry take their toll on a community or country? Have you ever moved to a new place and found that all you wanted was to bring what had worked for you in the past into your new circumstances? Have you ever been unwilling to let go of old ideas that were actually harmful to yourself or others? On the other hand, have you ever moved to a place where your ways or religion were in the minority and tried to impose them on others? In what ways have you seen the strong willed, with power and weak morals, do harm with their power? We can always use those painted as evil in scripture to evaluate our own hearts and behaviors in order to make better choices.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to look into our own hearts for the idolatries that drive us. Give us the insights that Jezebel lacked and inspire us to the same strong-willed devotion that she displayed directed at you alone. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 5, 2025:  Widow of Zarephath – Generosity for God - 1 Kings 17:8-24 Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there, for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.

In stark contrast to the venomous Jezebel who sought Elijah’s death, we find the story of one unnamed woman who sought to save his life. This woman lived in Zarephath in Phoenicia, about eight miles south of Zidon on the road to Tyre. That area had suffered from extreme drought for two and a half years leading to wide spread poverty and death. She was hungry and so was her son. They knew that they had only a short time left to live. She had only a little meal left in her barrel and a little oil to mix with it. No doubt she was pale and undernourished by the time we meet her. Fleeing from Jezebel’s wrath, Elijah had gone to a brook called Cherioth. He could have starved there himself, but God met his need. Ravens fed him twice a day. The language is a bit strange here and we don’t know for sure if the word for raven referred to the actual birds or someone or something else. The point is that God supplied what he needed as only God can. At one point, God tells Elijah to go to Zarephath because there was a widow there that God had commanded to help him. When he arrived, wearing his camel hair tunic and the mantle of a prophet, he saw her while she was gathering sticks at the city gate for a small fire. He approached her and asked her for a little water. In this barren land, she set out to try to find him a little water. As she left, he called to her asking that she also come back with a little bread to share. She turned and opened her heart to him, telling him everything about her dire situation. She told him that she was gathering sticks to make a fire to bake a last meal for herself and her son. Elijah tells her not to fear. She is to go and do as she has said, but he asks her to bring him a small cake first. What a test for this starving woman. Still, she obeys. Miraculously her supplies prove to be enough. Not only that, her resources were never exhausted until the drought ended and new hope arrived. Even in the midst of her miracle of provision, trouble came again. Her son was struck with a mortal illness. Grief stricken she lashes out at Elijah. Elijah takes the son in his arms and goes alone into a room with him where he prays and the child is resuscitated. Please do not get side tracked by the mysteries of ravens, never emptying barrels of meal and resuscitating the dead! Those are not the point. The point, and what this woman learned from her life and Elijah’s teaching, is that God provides what we most need when we can no longer find our way. God also heals, sustains and guides. When we open our eyes to see the ways that happens, even today, our life is renewed, relationships are restored and trust in God’s ways can change the situations in which we find ourselves. Think a bit today about the widow of Zarephath. Have you ever been on the edge of despair, ready to give up on life itself? Have you ever kept going for the sake of one you loved? Have you ever used all of your resources and not known where else to turn? Have you ever felt moved to give to someone else in need knowing that you are giving not of what you have to spare but rather giving of that which you had thought you needed for yourself? Have you ever had to trust God for your next meal? Have you ever felt moved to welcome a stranger? What gifts did those times bring? Have you ever had an experience of God’s healing, physically, spiritually or emotionally? What was that like? Look at your own faith and the generosity it awakens in your life. You are more like this widow than you may think. Or at least you can be.

Prayer: Generous God, fill us today with the generosity of this widow and the sustaining faith in you that makes it possible. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 6, 2025:  The Shunamite Woman – The Great Woman – 11 Kings 4:8-37, 8:1-6 Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.”

The Shunamite woman lived in a village on the edge of the rich grain fields of Esdraelon in the time of the great prophet Elisha, the successor of Elijah. It was a historic town rich with history. King Saul and his son Jonathan had been killed in battle there. Victories against the Philistines happened there. Elijah had passed her way and now Elisha was no stranger to the place. Perhaps she had heard the tale of Elisha increasing the oil in the jars of a widow of one of the prophets so that she could pay her debts. The Shunamite woman was obviously a woman of means who was open and receptive to God. Little is said of her husband, only that he is older than she and had confidence in her judgement. She, however, is described as great. This probably meant that she was wealthy, influential, kind and generous. Because their home was situated in an inviting place, people often stopped on the busy road to rest and refresh themselves. One day we learn that she shared her bread with the traveling Elisha. After that he visited with her often. She told her husband that she thought he was a holy man and suggested that they make a room for him in their home. She prepared a lovely upper room for him that he could access by an outside staircase in the garden. It became a favorite retreat for him when he was in the area. One day Elisha asked how he could repay her for her hospitality. She said that she did not desire honor or recognition. Elisha consulted with one of her servants who told him that her deepest wish was to have a son. Elisha called to her and told her that after years of barrenness the next spring she would have a son. She did. Years passed and one day the boy went out among the reapers with his father. Suddenly he was struck ill with terrible pains in his head. He was carried to his mother who held him in her lap for hours. Sadly, he grew worse and died, probably of sunstroke. Quickly she carried her son to Elisha’s chamber and laid him on his bed. She ran for Elisha.  When he saw her from a distance he sent his servant to go to her and inquire if all was well. In a truly stunning statement of faith she said, “It is well.” Still, it was obvious that something was troubling her deeply. She would not leave Elisha’s side. Shortly he took his staff and followed her home. Elisha lay on top of the child and prayed. The boy sneezed and rose. She fell at Elijah’s feet in silent gratitude. Their relationship continued with Elisha warning her later of impending famine. She took action to insure that her son and she survived as refugees in the land of the Philistines. There is much more to her story than this short devotion permits us to explore. Today, though, take a moment to think about this woman. Have you ever befriended someone you knew to be a holy person? Have you ever felt moved to bring someone into your home? Have you ever experienced anything miraculous? How do you express your faith in good times? In times of trial? Have you ever had your circumstances change dramatically? How did you manage that? If you have found your faith to be a bedrock guiding both your emotions and your ethics, then a bit of this good woman lives in you too.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the holy ones you bring into our lives who help us navigate the joys and the heartaches. Help us to trust you to guide us to life at all times. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 7, 2025:  Athaliah – The Only Woman Ever to Rule Judah – 11 Kings 11:1-3 Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family. But Jehosheba, King Joram’s daughter, Ahaziah’s sister, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus, she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed; he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

It is sometimes hard to read history. We want to remember ourselves as the good guys and not look at the complex complicity of our ancestors in generational devastations. I was tempted to skip over this ancestor because she was awful. At least that is how the Bible presents her to us. Did she have redeeming features? She must have since we are each created in the image of God, but if she did they are buried pretty deeply. No doubt if we go back far enough in our own personal ancestry we will find those who do appalling things there as well. We may not have to back very far. So, we can at least take a look at Athaliah and consider what we learn from her about how we do not want to live. She was the daughter of Jezebel, and the acorn did not fall far from the oak. She is the only woman to sit on the throne of David and rule. There is little wonder that if all woman were judged by her performance, it would be millennia before another got the chance! For political expediency she was married to Jehoram, the eldest son of the faithful Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Like her mother, she worshipped Baal and promoted her religion from the throne. Jehoram’s two brothers were faithful to the religion of Israel and for that reason they were both killed. She and her husband were birds of a feather. His reign was short, and he died just as Elijah prophesied after 8 years. All of his wives and sons, except Ahaziah and Athaliah had been captured by the Philistines, so the young Ahaziah came to the throne with his mother acting as a sort of regent. We don’t know a lot about him. 11 Chronicles 22:3 sums it up. He “walked in the ways of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.” From the point of view of the writer of Chronicles, this probably meant giving way to pluralism in worship and not adhering to his own faith tradition as a king of Israel. Within a year, her son was wounded in his chariot by Jehu who had been commissioned by Elijah to overthrow the dynasty of Athaliah’s father. He escaped to Megiddo where he died. She seized the thrown and resolved to kill the entire royal family and rule herself. She did for 6 years. Only one child was spared and spirited away to safety. She fiercely promoted her religion to the point, we think, of having part of the Jerusalem Temple torn down and constructing a Temple to Baal from the marble. In a moment of true palace intrigue, Jehosheba with the support of mighty men of Israel took the now seven-year-old Joash, the rescued child, to the high priest Jehoida who pronounced him king. When the Queen heard the celebration of his accession she went to the Temple screaming “Treason! Treason!” The High Priest ordered her execution after she left the temple. She was trampled to death by horses and left there, much like her mother, to the dogs. So, what do we do with this ancestor? Was she just a spoiled woman devoted to her Baal religion? Maybe. But the final reference to her in the Bible, (II Chron. 24:7) just refers to her as ‘that wicked woman.” Was her wickedness just that she practiced a different religion? Again, maybe. But I suspect it went deeper than that. I think it was at least in part the fact that she used her wealth and power to promote her religion from the top and persecute all others. We have certainly seen that in history, even the history of Christianity. Perhaps we can learn from her that power and fanaticism are a deadly combination, and we should beware of it in any form. We should also learn that religious persecution was wicked and is to this day. Perhaps we read her story and wonder if the establishment of religion is religion at all or just a convenient tool of persecution. Today think about Athaliah and how power and passion can be used as a tool for oppression. Remember as well, that that combo led to a hardened heart and the last blood on her hands was her own.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of history that allows us to see the mistakes of the ancestors and make better choices today. In Jesus’ holy name we pray.

October 8, 2025:  Huldah- A Prophet – II Kings 22:14 So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shapham and Asaiah went to the prophet Huldah the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; she resided in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter, where they consulted her.

Huldah’s story unfolds in Jerusalem in the time of King Josiah. His faithful priests have found a holy book, the book of the Law, while on a mission from the king to count all the silver. Not quite knowing what to make of it, they went to the prophet Huldah for help in determining if the book was genuine or not. She was widely known throughout the region for her faithfulness and her spiritual perception. It was said that her prophetic insight was given to her because she loved God with all her heart. When the prominent emissaries of the king arrived and showed her the book, she authenticated it and commended it to the faithful King Josiah. At the time of the authentication, Huldah also prophesied about the future of Jerusalem. She foretold that the nation of Judah would fall because the people had turned from God and given their allegiance to idols. But, she added, because the King was faithful, he would be spared. After this Josiah had the scroll read in the Temple and vowed to walk with the Lord more zealously. Commentators have often puzzled about why Josiah would seek out Huldah for advice and not one of the male prophets of his time. Some suggest it was because he had come to trust his faithful mother when he came to the throne at an early age. We just don’t know. What we do know is that her spiritual insight, which is highlighted in the repetition of the phrase “Thus says the Lord” in her prophecy was an indication of both her own humility and her confidence that God was speaking through her for the good of the people. Today think about Huldah. Have you ever been sought out to give your opinion in a matter of importance? What do you think your reputation is among those around you? How do you think Huldah nurtured her spiritual insight? Have you ever read scripture and been moved to tell someone else the truth you found there? In what ways are you humble when you share your faith? There is a bit of your ancestor Huldah in you! Think today about how you might use your gifts for good.

Prayer: O God, you are the giver of all gifts. We thank you for the spiritual insights that you give to us. Help us, with humility, to speak your truth for the good of others. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 9, 2025:  Esther – The Right Woman for the Ripe Moment – Esther 2:5-7 Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with King Jeconiah of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried away. He had brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the young woman was fair and beautiful, and when her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter.

Esther’s name appears 55 times in the Bible book that carries her name. It is one of only two books in the Bible that carry the name of a woman. The other is Ruth. Esther’s story takes place in Persia during the time of exile. The book named for her is one of the most controversial books in the Bible because not once is the name of God mentioned. Some scholars call it a historical novel. Many agree that it is a story told to explain and justify the celebration of the Feast of Purim celebrated by Jews in March each year. The author of the book is unknown but was clearly a skillful writer with knowledge of Persian palaces and customs. Even though Esther did not come from a noble family, she became a symbol of courage and a means of salvation for her people. Her story begins, however with another woman, Queen Vashti, a respected and honorable monarch. One evening during a wild drinking feast, the king, and those who were celebrating with him, got quite drunk. Queen Vashti was giving a banquet for the woman at the same time. The king had issued an order that drinks would be served in golden goblets and there would be no limits. On the seventh day of this celebration, he sent for Queen Vashi and demanded that she put on her crown and parade herself in front of his drunken friends. Whether this was a mere parade or not is disputed. At any rate, the Queen refused, which enraged the king and eventually led to her banishment. When the king sobered up he began to think about Vashti and miss her beautiful presence. His servants suggested that he call for all the beautiful virgins in the kingdom to be brought before him in a kind of beauty parade from which he would choose a new Queen. Enter Esther who is chosen as the new Queen. She does not reveal her Jewish parentage. Shortly Mordecai learns of a plot by Haman, a scheming Persian official, to rid the kingdom of all jews. Mordecai hears of the plot, which, by this time, has become an empire wide edict of annihilation, and reaches out to Esther for help. The plot thickens and it is worth reading the whole book of Esther in one sitting to sense the drama. She throws a banquet, weaves a web, risks her own life and in the end orchestrates Hamans downfall and saves the Jewish people. Think Today about both Esther and Vashti. Vashti refused to obey oppressive orders and paid the price for it. Esther plotted within the system for evil to be confronted and the oppressed to be saved. Both actions take courage. Sometimes one is effective. Sometimes the other is better. Have you ever felt surrounded in situations that you knew were wrong? Which method of action did you choose? Whether there is more of Esther than Vashti in you, who knows, perhaps you were born for a moment such as this.

Prayer: Gracious God, in the face of injustice, make us wise and brave. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 10, 2025:  .The Virtuous Woman – Her Price is above Rubies – Proverbs 31:10 – A woman of strength who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

Today’s verse from the wisdom book of Proverbs offer us a beautiful portrait of a virtuous women in the codes and mores of the day. Read verses 10-31 to get the full picture. We don’t know who wrote this last chapter of Proverbs. It appears to be the counsel of a mother to her son who is a king. She begins with a picture of a woman who will be a man’s downfall and ends with a vision of a true partner who will be a joy and a solace. Commentators have suggested that the portrait painted is intended to be a mirror in which every woman can judge her own choices and behavior. I don’t think that the qualities highlighted in these verses are restricted to any one gender. This woman is painted as strong, trustworthy, hardworking, a good leader of her staff, a provider of nourishment, a just distributor of resources, faithful to give to her spouse, a shrewd business person. She is creative and artistic, someone who thinks ahead, is thrifty, honorable and beloved by her family. All of the verbs to describe her are strong and active. There is nothing passive about this person. That is quite a portrait! I wonder if any of us can see ourselves fully in it. Still, today think for a bit about what virtue looks like in our day. What of these qualities do you want to develop? Which ones do you already see in yourself. Take a moment to jot them down. How do you see these qualities in those closest to you? Thank God for this wonderful list as we close our look at women in the Old Testament.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to live virtuous lives that shed love and peace to all we meet. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 11, 2025:  Mary the Mother of Jesus – The Blessed One – Luke 1:46-48 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed.

As the mother of Jesus, Mary holds the most exalted position for Christians of any of the women in the Bible. Much of her story is well known. She was a young woman, engaged to be married, when the angel Gabriel came to her to announce God’s calling on her life. We may get caught up in the controversies of this special birth. Did the words of scripture refer to virgins as we think of them or simply to unmarried, pure hearted women? When we get wrapped up in the physical details of the miraculous birth we can miss the true miracle of Mary’s ‘yes’s to God’s will for her life, and the amazing manifesto she sings to her friend Elizabeth. (More of that tomorrow.) Mary, whose Hebrew name means rebellion, showed remarkable courage even as she was faced with what seemed the nonsensical invitation of God. In her day, to be engaged meant that, even while she lived at home with her family until the marriage, she was, under the law, considered Joseph’s wife. That meant that if she got pregnant, and Joseph claimed not to be the father, she could be convicted of adultery and executed. Knowing this makes her answer to the angel, “Let it be with me according to your word,” even more stunning. Would she lose everything, even her life, to accept this assignment? That indeed takes a remarkable faith! Throughout the centuries, Mary has been known as the theotokas, the God-bearer. Some consider her to be the first priest, as priests are those who are understood to mediate and offer Jesus to the world. Her story unfolds in miraculous ways throughout. She bears the holy child, with Joseph by her side. She ponders these miracles in her heart. She welcomes wise ones from the east with unimaginable gifts. She listens to shepherds telling her of angel choirs. She takes the baby, as the law required, to the temple for the birthing rituals, only to find two old prophets who tell her of her son’s special status and what that will mean for her. She is found throughout his life, caring and trying to guide Jesus. She is at the foot of the cross when he breathes his last. We could do a whole month of devotions reflecting on her role! Today, though, think about her yes to God’s will for her life. In what ways are you able to say “Let it be with me according to your will” to God? How is that difficult. In what ways do you, or could you, be a God bearer in your life?

Prayer: God of Wonder and Grace, we thank you for the role model of Mary, brave and constant. Help us to embrace the role you have for us to play in the world with Mary’s “Let it Be” on our lips as well. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 12, 2025:  Elisabeth – The Great Friend – Luke 1:39-40 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that she had a great friend in Elizabeth that gave Mary the courage to say her ‘yes’ to God’s calling on her life. Elizabeth was a kinswoman, older than Mary, who had known both pain and grace in her life. She was married to a priest and came from a priestly family. After long years of barrenness, she was now pregnant with John the Baptist. This was a miracle indeed. Zechariah was old and Elizabeth was getting on in years herself. When the angel comes to Zechariah in worship and foretells the birth of his son John, he is doubtful. Because of his doubt he was rendered mute until the things the angel foretold came to pass. Elizabeth was a woman who welcomed miracles and was nearly six months along when Mary came to see her. It seems that Mary, immediately after the angel left her, set out to go and see Elizabeth. Elizabeth, a deeply spiritual woman, knew before Mary told her what had happened. She greeted Mary by telling her that the baby in her own womb leapt inside her when Mary approached. Her first act of welcome was to tell her friend that she was blessed and to ask her why she had come to see her. It was in the presence of her friend that Mary sang her world-shattering song of praise, sometimes called the Magnificat, in which she praises God for God’s favor and outlines a vision of God’s status quo toppling values. Mary stayed through her first trimester with Elizabeth. Why? Did she need her support through the first dangerous months of pregnancy? Did she need the guidance and spiritual maturity of an older woman? Did she need someone she trusted with whom to ponder deep things? Did she need to gather courage to face Joseph, her family, the consequences and the scandal? Maybe all of those things. Elizabeth disappears from the story after her son John the Baptist is born, but her modeling of true friendship sings out to this day. Think today about Elizabeth. In what ways are you being called to be a safe haven friend to someone today? How do you experience spiritual insight? In what ways do you welcome those who come to you for support? How do you provide a safe space to hear people’s stories? How to you help to nurture courage in others to sing their praise and their power toppling songs? When you hear a powerful manifesto, how do you respond? See if you can find the Elizabeth in you today.

Prayer: God of Grace, help us to remain awake today to your miracles and ways. Help us to offer support to those who need us. Help us to be true friends, to welcome and to protect the people who turn to us. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 13, 2025:  Anna – The Wise Prophet – Luke 2:36-38 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Today’s verses give us our only look at the prophet Anna. While her exact age is a little difficult in the Greek text, (was she eighty-four or had she been a widow for eighty-four years?) what is abundantly clear is that she was an old woman with wisdom and insight honed from decades of prayer and devotion. She was a daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher and the context would indicate that she had no living children. We meet her when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the Temple for his presentation. The custom was to do this along with the purification ceremony of the mother forty days after birth. Mary and Joseph traveled from Bethlehem to Jersualem for the rituals. Upon entering the Temple they meet Simeon, a just and devout man, who recognized Jesus as the longed-for Messiah. Simeon sings his beautiful song, while Anna watches and waits. She is not silent for long. She immediately realizes who the baby is and begins to declare that truth to all who looked for the liberation of Jerusalem. In those days, Jerusalem was under the control of the Roman Empire. Rome was extraordinarily powerful, exercising control of science, philosophy, theology, wealth and social power. Many had longed for centuries for God to send a mighty messiah who would liberate them from Roman control and restore the promised land to the control of the covenant people. Was it because she had spent decades listening to the reading of the sacred scrolls that Anna became the first to declare Jesus Messiah? Was it because she gave her life over to prayer and worship that she was able to see in a tiny baby from a poor family (notice in the larger text that they were only able to afford two small doves as their offering,) the one who would realize their dreams and set them truly free? I expect that both of those things are true. Think today about Anna, the first one to speak messianic hope to those looking for the redemption of Israel. Think today about your life of prayer and study of scripture. How do those two things shape what you see in the world? How does prayer and worship allow you to see hope when it comes your way? How might you want to deepen your spiritual practice to such an extent that you recognize Jesus present with you today? Anna calls us to faithful spiritual practice and bold proclamation. Look for those qualities in yourself today and rejoice.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to deepen our lives of prayer and devotion to scripture so that we may see the many ways you come to us each day. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 14, 2025:  Mary – The Woman Who Sat at Jesus’ Feet – Luke 10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying.

The two sisters, Mary and Martha of Bethany, along with their brother Lazarus were core members of Jesus’ inner circle. He took refuge in their home, taught there and rested there whenever he especially felt the need for companionship and refreshment. The two sisters, both deeply faithful, had very different temperaments. We’ll look at what we can learn from Martha tomorrow. For today, let’s look at Mary. We find three major stories that revolve around her in scripture. Today’s story is the first. The other two involve the raising of her brother Lazarus and how she (and her sister) wrestled with Jesus’ delay in coming to them when they asked for help, and the beautiful banquet of gratitude when Mary anoints Jesus with oil. There are several remarkable things about Mary of Bethany. First of all, in a patriarchal world with very strict rulers about the roles of women, she does not seem bound by those rules. In the story from which we take today’s verse, Jesus has come to their home for a visit. While Martha welcomes him and sets about preparing the household to feed and honor him, Mary sits with the male disciples to hear his teaching. This was outlandish behavior in her day and even outraged her sister. Jesus however supported her and treated her as an equal to the men, going so far as to chastise Martha for reprimanding her sister. What do we learn from her in this little story? One clue we find in the Greek word translated as ‘listened’ in our verse. This word does not simple refer to hearing with the ear. It also implies hearing with the ear of the mind. For Mary to listen in this way meant that she heard him, incorporated what she heard and acted accordingly. When I was in seminary, a professor often started a lesson in scripture by saying “Read. Learn, mark and inwardly digest.” This is what Mary was doing right alongside the other disciples. Today, think about Mary of Bethany. How do you listen to Jesus in the way of Mary? How do his words enter not only into your heart, but move from your heart to become actions that are consistent with what you hear from him? Mary teaches us that words may pass through the ears and never root in the heart and ethics unless we make the risky choice to make certain that they do. Mary teaches us that any convention or custom that seems to prevent someone from sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning his ways, must be discarded regardless of the consequences. She gives us a picture of what Jesus calls ‘the better part.’ Think today about how you can listen more to Jesus. Are there obstacles that you must overcome? You have a partner in Mary of Bethany!

Prayer: Gracious God, we long to sit at Jesus’ feet. Sometimes it feels like there are many obstacles to that. We are rushed with work and other responsibilities. Our family members don’t value what our hearts yearn for, and we often don’t know which teachers to trust. Help us today, and every day, to find our way to faithful teaching and be changed by what we learn.

October 15, 2025:  Martha – The Detailed One – Luke 10:38-42 – Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Yesterday we met Martha’s sister Mary, a studious and spiritual person who would let nothing stop her from sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from him. Today we meet Martha, an equally faithful woman with a different temperament and set of gifts. Martha loved Jesus. She also knew that meals don’t cook themselves, and feeding 12 male guests on top of her own household would take organization and willing helpers. Martha’s story is not about whether Bible study should win out over working in the kitchen. It was not what Martha was doing that was her problem. The problem was that what Martha was doing was doing her in. She was rushed off her feet and that frustration gave rise to resentment. Often for all of us when that is our situation, resentment leads to a lack of discernment. When we don’t have the help we need and begin to blame others, often the details of our tasks take an over blown importance. Does it really matter the kind of paper the report is filed on? Do we really need six side dishes at the Thanksgiving dinner? Will the sky fall if we miss one cobweb on the window sill? Jesus does not devalue Martha’s work. Nor does he belittle her need for help. He simply reminds her that her overdoing and distractions are making her tasks unnecessarily unpleasant. Martha’s gift was clearly organization and hospitality. She was adept at providing welcome to honor guests. Jesus is simply asking her to not do so much that the love behind her doing is lost and morphs into resentment. He wants her to be herself, just as he wants that for her sister. He needs her to do what she does best. He just doesn’t need her to impress them all by all that she does. Think today about Martha. Are there times when you take on too much, times when you really want to do those things well but do not have the help you need to pull it off? Are there times when resentment seeps into your thoughts? Are there times when all of your doing, all of your perfectionism, make it difficult for you to discern what is most needed at the moment and let go of the rest? What would happen if today you let Jesus reorganize your priorities? As you pray today, ask the Martha in you what she really needs. Let Jesus meet your real needs, take a deep breath, and let the rest wait for the right time.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of the two sisters Mary and Martha. They both teach us important lessons about our priorities. Open our eyes today to see what is ours to do, how you want our gifts used, so that we may experience the joy of your presence. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 16, 2025:  Simon’s Mother-in-Law – Luke 4:38-39 After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her immediately.

Jesus’ healing miracles can be baffling in our scientific world. They can also be baffling when we ourselves pray for healing and find so little of it. Why do we care about Simon Peter’s mother-in-law when our spouses cancer has returned, or our child is in a coma, or we ourself hurt every minute of every day? In the Bible, healing is understood holistically.  There are a number of different words in Greek that we translate as heal or healing.  Each has a slightly different meaning.  Three of the most common words are therapeuo, iaomai and sozo.  Therapeuo forms the base of our English word, therapy.  It had a variety of meanings including to heal or cure, to render service in worship (therefore to do for God by doing for others) or even to cultivate a garden.  Iaomi (from which we get the Greek word for physician) implies the restoration of health.  Sozo (also the word we translate as ‘saved’) means to be made well or whole in every arena of life.  Jesus often uses sozo, especially when the person healed is the one who reaches out for help. While these words are not used in today’s verse, the story is one of therapeuo and carries the meaning of being made well as a service to God and for service to God.   Healing includes all aspects of a person’s mind, body, relationships and spirit.  Likewise, any disturbance of wholeness of mind, body, relationships or spirit, is the subject of God’s healing. Healing can take place in each of these arenas.  Sometimes when we pray for physical healing that is what we get, remembering that all physical healing is temporary since we will each eventually die.  Sometimes, however we get healing of spirit, mind or relationships that allow us to come to terms with physical ailments or death. Sometimes healing comes only in the new life after death.  One of the most important Biblical areas of healing occurs in the forgiveness of sin and the healing of our broken relationship with God. Simon’s mother-in-law, once healed, rises quickly to serve the people who have surrounded her in her hardship. Think today about this women, who is healed and, from her gratitude, begins to care for others. In what areas of life do you need healing of body, mind or spirit, so that your gratitude can overflow into service? Who stands beside you in your struggles? Do you have people praying for you? If you would like prayer, reach out to us, or to your church. We will be honored to pray for you.

Prayer: Gracious God, work your will out in our lives today. Remove any obstacle to the fullness of life so that we may serve others as you intend. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 17, 2025:  Woman with an Issue of Blood – Mark 5:24b-26 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse.

Today’s unnamed women’s story is a story within a story. Jesus has been teaching, healing and exorcising spirits for some time. He has crossed the Sea of Galilee to a new area of ministry only to be met by a huge crowd who had heard of his power and authority. In that crowd, an elder from the synagogue comes to him pleading for his young daughter who is gravely ill. As Jesus is on his way with the man, a woman with a chronic hemorrhage sneaks up to him in the crowd and touches the hem of his garment. She does this surreptitiously because the law forbade contact with blood and because women did not touch men other than spouses or sons ever. She hopes for an anonymous miracle. No such luck. Jesus searches for her and when she falls at his feet confessing what she has done in touching him, he lifts her up and bestows an even greater miracle than the stopping of her blood flow. He calls her daughter and tells her to go and live in wholeness. This is even more startling because, according to the law, her issue of blood would have long made her an outcast in her family who believed that her suffering was punishment from God and that to touch her or even sit on a chair she sat upon, would make them unclean and anger God. She had probably been living outside of town with the lepers. What courage it must have taken for her to reach out after all of her disappointments! How frightened she must have been when he turned to search for her! How astonished she must have been when his words of compassion invited her into his own family and encouraged her to live whole. Think today about his woman. Are there areas in your life with which you have struggled for many? Can you imagine the isolation those with chronic illness often experience? Where are you in need of wholeness today? Take a moment to breathe deeply with the courage and resolve of this woman, and reach out to Jesus. He will know what you need and the best way to provide it. Remember, that prayers for healing may be answered by complete cure, gradual improvement and/or the grace and strength to cope. However, the answer comes, in the grand scheme of things, it will be what you need most.

Prayer: God of Healing, we thank you for lifting us up and making us your own. Help us today to live with the wholeness you bestow upon us. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 18, 2025:  The Crooked Woman – Luke 13:11-13 – And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

This third story of a woman healed by Jesus in our series gets Jesus in some really hot water. Why? Because he was teaching on the sabbath when he saw her coming into worship and, according to the leader of the synagogue, he broke the law by healing her on that holy day. Jesus pulls no punches in putting him straight, calling out the leader’s own hypocrisy. Today let’s focus on the woman. As I age, I identify with her more and more. I too am becoming a bit more stooped, trying to protect myself from the pain of my deteriorating spine. What I notice here, however, that can apply to most of us at any time, is that, like the woman here, when I find myself bent over, I am unable to look up, even to see what is right before me and what might yet be mine to live into. When our pain or helplessness bends us double, physically or metaphorically, it can be really hard to see our options or even to see the beautiful consolations that God sends for us to ease our journeys. When I am looking at the floor, trying to avoid the pain, I can no longer see the stars and recognize the one who walks with me every day. This bent woman knows where her help can actually be found: in the place of worship. We do not know if she was a follower of Jesus, or if she had even heard of him, but something drew her to the place where she knew consolation lay. Walking in, cramped and broken, there was still something that hoped inside of her. There was something in her that knew that God cared for her, that God sustained her, that God would somehow meet her where she was in the touching familiarity of the sacred scriptures and the well-worn prayers. So, she got up, got dressed and came. Little could she even imagine that she would meet God in skin who would care enough about her to defy all tradition, to stop what he was doing at the very sight of her and instigate an intimate healing relationship with her. Little could she have known that when he saw her, he saw her whole and declared her so before he even laid hands on her and removed her disability. What must she have thought when she heard him declare that she was free of her ailment while she was still stuck and bent? Could she have known that she was not defined by her disability? Could she have known or remembered who she was before it? Could she have felt a soul wholeness before she felt her back unfreeze and her gaze lift to his face? Can we? Can we see that our obstacles do not define, nor confine, us in the eyes of Jesus? Can we see in ourselves what he saw in her? Can we see ourselves as set free even before the symptoms of our bondage melt away? It seems to me that that is the core of the miracle here. Jesus focuses his attention on each of us, declares us whole, risks his own life to call out all that holds us back. He rebukes everything that keeps our focus off of hope and that tells us we are broken and not whole. Sometimes, like this woman, physical release comes, other times the release is of a captive and bent spirit or perspective. Think today about the bent woman. What bends you double these days? Invite Jesus to touch you and see what happens.

Prayer: Great God, sometimes we curl in upon ourselves. Our struggles bend us double, and we can only come to you by habit and not hope. Still, you see us. You declare us whole. You lift our eyes and awaken us to your grace. We praise you! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 19, 2025:  Herodias – A Woman Consumed by Revenge – Luke 3:19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

If there is a more blistering picture of an insecure and vengeful woman corrupted by power in the New Testament, I am not sure what it could be. Herodias was the second wife of Herod Antipas. This was the same Herod that Jesus called a fox for his cunning and to whom Jesus was sent by Pontius Pilate for judgment. Herodias’ first marriage was to her half-uncle Herod Philip whom she divorced to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas, who was the step brother of her father. What a maze! In her first marriage, she bore a daughter who, we are told, excelled in sensuous dancing. The family tree of the Herod’s is complicated and hard to untangle. During Herodias’ first marriage she lived in Rome where her husband had been exiled because his mother took part in a plot to overthrown Herodias’ grandfather, Herod the Great. While in Rome the couple entertained Herod Antipas, and an affair began between Herodias and the man who became her second husband. She persuaded Herod Antipas to divorce his wife. She divorced her husband and the two were married. Even with the divorces, in her day her second marriage was considered adulterous and incestuous. Apparently the only one who was brave enough to call all of this tangle out was John the Baptist who declared the marriage unlawful. She wanted him killed, but for a while was restrained by her husband you likely feared John’s popularity. Her stinging hatred of John grew until one night at a banquet for Herod’s birthday in which her daughter, Salome was dancing in such a way that the men were in a frenzy she saw her opportunity to strike. Salome’s step father was so pleased with her dancing that he vowed that she could ask him for anything, and she would have it. After consulting with her mother, she asked for John’s head on a platter. It is hard to imagine, but historians tell us that Herodias and Antipas’ story become even more twisted than that. They were banished to Gaul by Emperor Caligula and reportedly died in Spain. When the banishment was declared, Caligula, who was a special friend of Herodias’ brother’s offered her freedom from the edict, but she decided to go with her husband. Think today about Herodias (and her daughter Salome.) How have you experienced or witnessed senseless retribution on the part of insulted people in power? Have you ever experienced or witnessed other people conscripted into evil activity to please those in power? Have you ever nursed resentment over a remark made to you or about you? Have you ever struggled to let go of vengeful feelings and found yourself plotting someone else’s downfall? Herodias, in all her current guises, is not unknown to us. She is not even completely unknown inside of us. Think of her as a cautionary tale, a warning that revenge and retaliation always bring destruction in one way or another.

Prayer: Gracious God, we read Herodias’ story with horror. And yet, we know that we, too, are capable of nursing wounded pride and plotting revenge on those who hurt or endanger us. Help us today to learn from history, embrace Jesus’ way of being and not that of the selfish powerful like Herodias. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 20, 2025:  The Syrophoenician Woman A Woman Who Won’t Take No for an Answer– Mark 7:24-26 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin.

This woman, also called The Canaanite Woman, is the only person in scripture who is able to change Jesus’ mind in a debate. At first when she comes to him, his response to her is very harsh. Why? We don’t know. Scholars suggest several possibilities. 1) Jesus was focused on his primary mission and did not want to be distracted from it. 2) Jesus is sometimes harsh with others to make a point. In Mt. 8:22 he says to a grieving son who wants to follow him but needs to bury his father first, “Let the dead bury their dead.” In Luke 10:4 he tells people “Greet no one on the road,” thus forbidding a normal and expected courtesy. In both of those instances his point is the urgency of the mission. Perhaps the same is true here. He has no time to waste on that which is not central. 3) The saying is not as harsh as it sounds and is probably from an old Jewish proverb that means something like “Charity begins at home.” You can’t meet every need. 4) Jesus, fully human, was having a really bad day, was exhausted, was raised in and influenced by his racist and sexist culture, and had to grow in his own blind spots. Luther says, “She serves Christ his own words.” 5)  Jesus is using this incident as an object lesson to show the disciples their own prejudices. All of these, except for #3 are convincing. If you look carefully at the original text, in my view, it is hard to soften the well-established slur that Jesus uses toward the woman. The harshness of Jesus’ response does nothing but highlight the woman’s courage and resourcefulness. In the search for help for her daughter, she would stop at nothing. As she refused to back down, she spun her argument in a typically rabbinic way. Jesus sees that she is right, and her daughter is healed by Jesus due to the actions of her mother. Think today about the Syrophoenician woman. Has there ever been a time when you felt moved to plead the case of others who were helpless? Have you ever felt dismissed due to your gender or your race? Has there ever been a time when you ‘stuck to your guns’ until you got the help you needed? Have you ever had to navigate our healthcare system and discovered you needed an advocate? If you have then you have a bit of this woman and her daughter in you. Good for you!

Prayer:  God of Grace, help us today to be tireless advocates for those in need. Give us courage to call those in power to account. Give us the wisdom we need to know when to push and when to rest so that we may try another day. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 21, 2025:  Salome, Mother of James and John – The Ambitious One – Matthew 20:20-21 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.

Salome the mother of James and John, not to be confused with the daughter of Herodias of the same name, is often simply referred to as the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Mark alone calls her Salome at the crucifixion and Resurrection. (Mark 15:40 &16:1) As her story unfolds it is clear that she is a faithful follower of Jesus who supports her sons James and John who are among Jesus’ inner circle. As Jesus’ movement is picking up steam she is among the disciples following him, along with her sons. Immediately after Jesus makes his third prediction of his death and resurrection, she pulls him aside on the road and asks a favor. She is so full of assurance that the new reign of God will be ushered in by Jesus that all the strange talk of death and resurrection seems to fail to register with her, as it did for most of Jesus’ followers. She asks him if her two sons can have positions of honor and power in his new reign, one to sit on his right hand and the other on his left. Jesus, likely feeling the weight of what he knows is in store for him, realizes that she does not know what she is asking. He tells her that those positions will go to whomever the Father has chosen for them. The other ten of the twelve apostles, are angry and feel like James and John just want to lord it over them. Into this internal brouhaha, Jesus inserts the still earth trembling truth that lowly service is the only path to true power. Whoever wishes to be great must be a servant to all. Salome must have pondered these words and grown from them. Others might have been offended at Jesus’ rather gentle rebuke. Still others might have been more in love with worldly power than with Jesus and walked away or tried to spin his words in ways that are totally foreign to his meaning. Salome did not. She kept following, even to the cross and to the empty tomb. Today think about Salome. Can you identify with her ambitions for her sons? Have you had those ambitions for yourself or your children? In your daily life, how do you understand power? Have you grown and changed in your views of success over the years? Who has helped you to refocus your goals when you got off track? Have you ever felt the sting of a rebuke and still been able to take in the truth of it and not flee the relationship? If so, a bit of Salome lives in you.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for helping us grow in understanding your will and ways. Give us the wisdom and the opportunity to serve you without thinking of our own gain. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 22, 2025:  The Samaritan Woman – The First Evangelist – John 4:7 A Samaritan women came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

The story of Jesus’ interaction with a Samaritan woman is one of the richest and most complex stories in the New Testament. It is so profound that I once preached on it for five weeks running and barely scratched the surface. This story offers us the longest conversation between Jesus and anyone in the Bible spanning 42 verses in John chapter 4. Obviously if it took me five weeks to preach on it, I will not be able to do it justice in this short devotion. Still, here are the headlines. Jesus is traveling with his friends through Samaria. There was generational animosity between Jews and Samaritans, each group claiming to be the true descendants of Abraham. There was such hostility that each came to think of the other as barely human. They had nothing whatsoever to do with one another. For a faithful Jew, to even share tools or implements such as a dipper in a well, with a Samaritan rendered one unclean and unfit for worship. On top of that, Jewish men did not have conversations with Jewish women outside the home, especially not complex theological ones. And for the cherry on top of this story, the woman was an outcast even from her own community, coming to the well for water alone at a time when the other women would have come and gone. Why was this so? Her marital history. She had had five husbands and was now living with a man not her husband. We don’t know her story. Did her first husband die and through the system of Levirate marriage she married each of his brothers until there were none left or at least none who would risk taking her as a wife? Women had very little say over whom they married in the ancient world. When she found herself without a husband there were very few choices for her. If she was lucky, a male relative would take responsibility for her. If she was not, she would become a concubine, a lesser wife, or prostitute. The Bible doesn’t make her status clear, only that she was outcast. When she comes to draw water midday, Jesus initiates conversation with her that begins with asking her to dip water for him, continues through her stunned, and probably frightened, response, a theological conversation about divisions, true worship and hope for the future. In the course of the conversation she wonders if he might be the longed-for Messiah. When his disciples return from town where they have gone to buy food, she runs back to her village, tells them what she has experienced and invites all to come and see for themselves who Jesus is. That is the task of an evangelist: to go to where the people are, to tell them what they know and to invite others to come to Jesus and see for themselves. According to that definition, she was Jesus’ first evangelist. Think today about the Samaritan women. Have you ever felt helpless and outcast? Did someone reach out to you and treat you like an equal? Have you ever felt truly seen by an unexpected person? How did that feel? In what ways do you act as an evangelist, that is, one who shares the good news of Jesus with others? Have you ever felt so inspired by Jesus words and presence with you that you couldn’t wait to share your story? If so, a bit of the Samaritan woman lives in you.

Prayer: God of Surprises, we thank you that you have always been One who seeks to break down barriers between your children. Help us today to hear your words and offer inspiration to others. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 23, 2025:  The Woman with the Alabaster Flask – The Extravagant Lover – Matthew 26:6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at table.

Storm clouds are gathering. The disciples seem to know it, but somehow they still think that they can outrun them. They still hope for a military hero who will draw a massive force, overthrow their Roman oppressors and restore the Promised Land to its Godly purpose. More and more, though, Jesus seems to have changed. He is quieter somehow, speaking of things in a more mystical way, a way they find hard to understand. He is redefining power. He is redefining wholeness. He is, in a radical new way, re-emphasizing old ways and values that had become stagnant or more rigid. His disciples know something has got to give but they don’t agree on what or how. Today’s verse finds him in Bethany at Simon’s house, a kind of retreat and home base for him a short distance from the dangerous fray of Jerusalem. The men are gathered around the table for an evening meal. The custom in those days was for men and women to eat separately on occasions such as this. The men reclined on cushions around the low table while they discussed politics, God, and next steps. Judas is getting restless, maybe a little surly. After all he is a man of action and waiting does not suit him. Jesus is aware that the plot to kill him is organizing, but the men aren’t so sure. On this evening, suddenly the door opens, and a woman rushes in with an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment. People often saved for a lifetime to acquire such a jar to be used to anoint them for burial. Without a word, she goes to Jesus, breaks the jar open and pours the perfumed oil on his head. For a moment the men are silent in shock. Then Judas’ anger overwhelms him, and he cries out at the waste. When the others join in sputtering outrage, Jesus silences them. He has immediately understood the true statement this woman was making. While the others, lost in their illusions of power, thought there was a chance that they could still rally Jesus to their political cause, this woman knew that he would be killed for it all. She was preparing his body for burial and without saying a word, she told the men what they needed to know but were unable to accept. Jesus praises her and tells them that wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world what she has done will be told in memory of her. And then, Judas goes out into the night. The die is cast. Despite her pivotal role in salvation history and Jesus’ declaration that her story will be told in remembrance of her, the gospel writers do not record her name. There has been much scholarly discussion about that. Was it Mary Magdalene? What it Mary of Bethany? Was she a woman he had healed? Perhaps in not knowing her name, we can better see ourselves in her. Think today about this woman. Can you think of a time when you had spiritual insight that others seemed to lack? How is it that you express your love of Jesus extravagantly? How do you show your solidarity with him even if it is risky? When you do any of those things, you are telling this woman’s story with your own life.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to show the same devotion to you as our long-ago sister did. Give us insight in difficult days and show us how to use our resources to glorify you. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 24, 2025:  Mary Magdalene – The First Witness to the Risen Christ – John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

Next to Jesus’ mother Mary, Mary Magdalene is perhaps the most renowned woman in the New Testament. She first met Jesus when she was suffering from demon possession. In those days, demons were not seen as red tailed pitch fork carrying little monsters. Rather a demon was anything, any entity, any process, any system, any illness, any habit, any mindset, that blocked persons from the fullness of life for which they were created. We don’t know the nature of Mary’s demons. What we do know is that after her encounter with Jesus, she was released. Nowhere in the scripture is there any indication that she was a prostitute. She was simply a sufferer. The story that she was a prostitute came into the tradition in the middle ages in an attempt to equate her with the sinful woman referenced in Luke 7:36-50. In more modern times, Dan Brown’s novel, The DaVinci Code suggested that she was Jesus’ wife. There is no evidence for that in scriptures either. What we do know is that from the moment of her healing she followed Jesus and played a prominent role in the leadership of his movement. She raised funds to keep them all going and she stayed with Jesus to the cross and beyond. After Jesus’ resurrection, in the early years of the movement, a rivalry for leadership broke out between Peter and Mary. This dispute ultimately resulted in Peter taking control and Mary being relegated to the footnotes. While Mary was the only person attested to in all four gospels as being a first witness to the resurrection, she is largely expunged from the record after she runs to tell the others what she has seen. The apostle Paul, doesn’t even list her as a witness to the resurrection. Whether that was in a blatant attempt to down play her role or because she was so successfully suppressed, we simply don’t know. What we do know about her is that she was a changed person as a result of her time with Jesus. She was spiritually astute and had many followers in the early years of the growing faith. She had a significant following of those who respected  her because of her closeness to Jesus and the deep things that he taught her. She was the first person to whom Jesus appeared after the resurrection and she was the first to tell the story. As she ran from the tomb, at Jesus’ bidding, with the words, “I have seen the Lord” on her lips, the Christian faith burst forth in ways no one could have dreamed. No longer were humans to be ruled by death. Because Christ defeated death so shall we. Today think about Mary Magdalene. Have you ever experienced release and new life as a result of encounter with Jesus and his word? Have you ever been maligned as a way of dampening your power? In what ways do you follow Jesus through thick and thin? If Jesus sent you, how would you declare his majesty to others? In what ways have you ‘seen’ the Lord? Are there times when you too are called to give witness to your faith that Christ has overcome death? If so, there is a bit of the Magdalene in you too.

Prayer: O Gracious God, send us forth from the darkness to declare the truth of your living presence in all things we say and do. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 25, 2025:  Sapphira – Her God was Money – Acts 5:1 But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds and brought only a part and laid it at the apostle’s feet.

In the early years of the expansion of the church, there was a unity of heart and mind among the disciples that is hard for most of us to imagine. The biblical book of The Acts of the Apostles paints a, perhaps idealized, but none the less compelling picture of the common life of believers in those days. It was a time of signs and wonders in which people gathered together daily for meals and held all of their possessions in common. This did not mean common ownership as much as it meant that whatever one had control of was always available to meet the needs of the group. The custom was that when property was sold, the proceeds were brought to the apostles, then they would distribute to people according to their need. (See Acts 2:43-47) Generosity, prayer and praise marked the community resulting in the kind of unity Jesus must have envisioned when he prayed for his disciples at the Last Supper. Still, human selfishness, greed and duplicity were not eradicated then any more than they have been eradicated now. There was one such couple whose story we find in Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira were stalwarts of the young church. They met and worshipped with the others but there was a problem. They had a measure of wealth and that became a wedge in their souls. At one point the two sold a piece of property. They conspired together to tell the others that they sold it for a different price and place only a portion before the apostles for charitable work. Peter realized this immediately and called Ananias to see him. He confronted him not with his greed but with his duplicity. When Ananias saw clearly how he had lied to the community, and we may assume, why he did it, he dropped dead on the spot. After a few hours, Sapphira came in, not knowing yet what had happened to her husband. Peter asked her about the price of the property, and she told the agreed upon lie. At which point Peter confronts her with the truth of her duplicity and her husbands death. At which point, she too falls down dead and is carried out by the ones who had just carried out her husband. It is interesting that the severest consequences of sin in these early days was meted out to a good church couple who lied about their pledge. What killed them? There is no indication in the text that God smote them. There is no indication that Peter somehow channeled the Spirit like a bolt of lightning to strike them dead. Rather, what we see here is the inevitable consequence of greed and the lies we tell to justify it. In our day, offering anything from the sale of a resource would be seen as generous and lauded. Back then, their actions belied two dangerous truths in Ananias and Sapphira’s hearts: 1. They loved their money. It felt like security to them. And, they trusted it more than they trusted God and the community of faith. 2. They wanted to be seen as better, more generous than they actually were. Think today about Sapphira and her husband. Where do you put your ultimate allegiance? How generous are you really with the church and those in need? Are there times when you lie, even in little things, in order to be seen as better than you really are? Down deep is there a kernel of greed that makes decisions in you about how much you give and where you security really lies? If so, there is a bit of this couple in you too. It will always bring a consequence. Duplicity always takes its toll.

Prayer: O Generous God, help us today to reflect on the story of this couple and ask ourselves how truthful and generous we really are. If we find that we are not, help us to see why we choose to hoard and try to justify it, so that we may live into the freedom and security of following you completely. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 26, 2025:  Dorcas (Tabitha) – The Charitable One – Acts 9:36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.

The book of Acts tells us the story of the early years of the Gospel’s expansion. The power of the risen Christ was at work through the disciples and all believers, not only reforming notions of community and unity but dispelling old fears and dysfunctions. The 9^th chapter gives us the story of the conversion of Saul (Paul) and the beginnings of the his ministry that came to largely shape the form of Christianity even to today. But lest we leap too quickly into Paul’s story, we have a few more stories from Peter’s life and work. One of the beautiful ones is the story of the lovely Tabitha (Dorcas.) She was a beloved in her community. She was a champion of the poor and powerless and was devoted to good works and charity. She was especially a defender of widows whose plight was always dire. In the story introduced by today’s verse we learn that she has fallen ill, desperately ill. Ill to the point, according to the text, that she died. The whole community is in such shock and despair that they send two men to find Peter. They were so distraught that they didn’t even tell him what had happened. They simply urged him to come immediately. Recognizing their pain and urgency, Peter jumped up and ran with them to the home of Tabitha where he found her lying in her upstairs room surrounded by the widows whom she had helped. The widows were weeping and showing him all the garments that Tabitha had made for them. The grief and despair in the room must have been palpable. Without Tabitha’s care and advocacy, they knew that they would have little recourse. Peter then puts them all out of the room, kneels in prayer and calls Tabitha to get up. Remember that stories of healing and awakening the dead are frequent in the scriptures. The point is never the physical miracle. The point is to teach that in the new realm of the risen Christ; death never has the last word. With Tabitha’s story we learn another important lesson: in the realm of the risen Christ, the poor and defenseless will never be left without resources. They will always be someone to help, respect, support and advocate for them. Tabitha is the only woman in the New Testament to be given the name of ‘disciple’ equal to the men. Today think about Tabitha. Take a moment to assess your own life according to her model. How are you known in your community? When people think of you, are their first thoughts about your good works and charity? In what ways do you help, respect, support and advocate for those who are in need and cannot help themselves? Tabitha spent hours making clothing for the poor widows. How do you spend your time for the least of these? These few verses that introduce us to Tabitha’s story can be a wonderful spiritual checkup for us. How do you see her values organizing your own life?

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for preserving for us the story of Tabitha to remind us how to organize our own lives of mercy. Show us today what is ours to do and fill us with your Spirit and stamina so that we may work for your glory. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 27, 2025:  Lydia – A Successful Business Woman – Acts 16:14 A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth.

Lydia was a wealthy business woman in the region of Philippi who sold purple cloth. The dye for purple clothing was so expensive to procure that only the wealthiest and royalty were able to purchase it. She was one of the most successful and influential people in her community. That, however, is not primarily why we remember her story. Lydia was the first convert to Christianity in Europe, somewhere between 50-60 CE. Philippi was a bustling prosperous city often said to be more Roman than Rome. Yet something did not sit right with Lydia. There was a spiritual longing in her that neither Roman religion nor wealth could satisfy. She and a small group of her friends gathered on the banks of the river Gangitis for prayer and support. That is where Paul and Silas found them. The text tells us that the Lord opened her heart as she listened to Paul and Silas preach. In their teaching about Jesus, she began to find the answers to her spiritual hunger. Shortly after this encounter she and her entire household were baptized. Lydia urged Paul and Silas to come to her home and teach her and the others more about this new faith she had embraced. Her home became a haven for Paul, Silas and others who needed safety and lodging as they spread the Gospel throughout the region and beyond. We are not told whether her new faith affected her business, but likely it did. Still, that was no impediment for her. It seems that her whole life focus became the Gospel and supporting its spread. Think today about Lydia. Have you ever felt a deep spiritual hunger that nothing seemed to satisfy? Have you ever felt that the Lord opened your heart to words you heard preached? How do you devote yourself to Christ’s teaching? Have you ever found that business concerns dampened your witness? Lydia’s faith played a role in the conversion of her entire household. Ask God if you have a role to play in witness to your faith at home or at work today. See if you can feel the power of Lydia’s joy in the Lord and let that lead you.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for filling our spiritual longing with your love and presence. Make us faithful witnesses to your grace every day. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 28, 2025:  Priscilla – (Prisca) – Teaching Pastor - Romans 16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the gentiles.

Precilla was one of the most influential women in early Christian expansion. She and her husband Aquila were new church planters and teachers. Priscilla was a Jew who was expelled from Rome at the time of Emperor Claudius’ edict expelling all Jews from the city. She and Aquila first went to Corinth and then to Ephesus. In reading references to her in the scriptures, modern readers might well miss the clues to her prominence. She became the spiritual teacher of the eloquent and learned Apollos. Although she and her husband labored together for the gospel, in three of the five cases in which they are mentioned together, her name is mentioned first, breaking all conventions of the day. This indicates that she was the primary teacher/preacher in her church groups which included a house church in their home. Priscilla and Aquila earned their living as tent makers, as did their great friend the apostle Paul. It is easy to imagine the three of them together weaving the sturdy tent fabric and talking together about the deep things of God. Priscilla was bright, studious and an inspiring speaker who not only taught the faith but expounded upon it. She helped her people grow and deepen their understanding. After Emperor Claudius died, Priscilla and Aquila moved back to Rome and played an instrumental role in the growth of the Christian community there. She is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome where he calls her with the affectionate diminutive of her name, Prisca, and tells the church in Rome that she had risked her life for him in his missionary journeys. Historical facts not recorded in the Bible attest to her influence. The historian Tertullias writes that ‘by the holy Prisca, the gospel is preached.’ One of the oldest catacombs in  Rome – Coemeterium Priscilla—was named in her honor. A church, Titulus Prisca, was erected on the Aventine hill in Rome and her name appears on many ancient monuments there. In many of the New Testament letters Pricilla is mentioned with love and gratitude for her teaching and preaching skills, for her self sacrifice, her hospitality and her reverence. Think today about Priscilla. Have you ever felt the need to break with convention in order to share your stories of faith? Have you ever learned something new and felt like you would burst if you couldn’t teach it to someone else? In what ways has your home served as a place of welcome and learning for others? Think about these things today and notice how Priscilla’s legacy lives on in you.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for helping us to recognize the unique gifts that you give to each of us so that we may glorify you as we use them and serve to spread your good news of grace. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 29, 2025:  Phoebe – A Deacon – Romans 16:1-2 – I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord, as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

Paul introduces Phoebe as the bearer of his letter to the church in Rome, his last written document that we have. We have no record of how she made the journey from Cenchrea, the port of Corinth, to Rome. If she went by land, as would have been customary for a woman in those days, she likely stopped for hospitality at the many different churches that had been established along the way. In sending his letter to the church in Rome, Paul had to be very cautious with his messenger. To be a Christian in Cenchreae was not easy. The port town was well known for its wickedness. He did not want the messenger to come to harm on the journey. She is the only woman recorded as a Christian in her town, although there were likely others who were not recorded. She probably had some wealth and influence to be able to assemble a caravan to undertake this journey. Though Paul uses only a few words to describe her, those words are loaded with significance. He calls her ‘our sister’ which was a simple and affectionate note of her belonging in the community of faith. More significantly, he calls her a deacon. This is the same word used for the ministry of men in that time. Sometimes the word is translated as minister, sometimes servant, sometimes deacon. The meaning is the same. In these early days the leadership of women in the church was not nearly as exclusive as it later became and, in some communions, remains. In addition, Paul calls her a benefactor. This polite phrase carried a lot of freight in Phoebe’s day. It suggested that she had been a patron of the unprotected and despised, one who has come to the aid of converts in need, one who has fought the battles of those who were oppressed. Paul goes on to say that she has even been such a benefactor to him personally. It is to this esteemed woman that Paul entrusts his most cherished, mature and theologically astute letter. Were it not for her, we might not have the book of Romans today. Whether Pheobe was killed in Rome, like Paul was and so many others, we do not know. Whether she made it back home, we do not know. What we do know is that she served as a deacon in her church and put her life on the line for the church’s mission. She was loyal, sympathetic, kind, an aid to the suffering and a trustworthy companion in ministry. Today think about Pheobe. Have you ever been entrusted with a really important task that could prove costly or dangerous? How did you approach it? Think about her characteristic of trustworthiness. How do you display this in your life? Think about her support of those who are oppressed? How can you embody some of Pheobe’s courage and compassion in that work? When you see yourself as being brave, trustworthy, kind and helpful, a bit of your ancestor Phoebe lives on in you.

Prayer: Gracious God, show us the work you have for us to do. If we need a special dose of bravery or compassion, fill us with that special sense of your Spirit that empowered Pheobe so that we may serve you as you need us to today. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 30, 2025:  The Widow and the Unjust Judge – The One Who Refuses to Give Up - Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you; he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

I could not resist printing this entire passage for you today. It is one of my very favorites in all of the scripture. It is the story of one unnamed woman who simply will not give up on her rights. On the way to Jerusalem, where he will meet his cross, Jesus has been teaching his friends and followers about the new character required to live in the Kingdom of God. He has told them that their priorities must be radical hospitality, refusing to love money, seeing and embracing the poor, putting faith into action and forgiving over and over and over. Many scholars believe that Luke’s hearers were experiencing extreme persecution. Some were finding it hard to hold on and were recanting their faith. This widow is an encouragement to them not to give up no matter what. If a cruel judge eventually gives in to a righteous widow, how much more will God listen and work on behalf of the faithful who never give up in prayer and action. The story is not about the judge. It is about God’s vindication, even though all around are corrupt and self-serving. When the faithful never give up, even the most corrupt can be forced to do the right thing. God will vindicate the people even when God has very little to work with. With that in mind, who was this woman? We don’t know her name, but we can learn a lot from her situation. As a widow, it was dire. Widows, if not redeemed by a near relative, were usually left in poverty, unable to own property or to find meaningful work to sustain their lives. A part of this harsh treatment grew out of the belief that to die before old age was a judgment against sin. The sin could have been that of the man who died, or that of the wife or another family member. For that reason, being a widow was sometimes seen as a situation of disgrace, brought by God for some good reason. Even with all of these cultural norms, it is clear throughout the scriptures that God has a particular concern for widows and orphans and all who are oppressed. In this story, the widow is suing in order to get what is rightfully hers. The language the gospel writer uses is fierce and funny! One way to translate the phrase used by the judge to explain why he gives in to her (because she bothers me and wears me out) could be translated “because she threatens to beat me up and black my eyes.” It is amazing that Jesus uses this fierce justice warrior as an object lesson for all of those who suffer oppression as well as those who have the means to alleviate it. We are simply never to give up, not in prayer and not in perseverance to achieve what is right. Think today about this widow. Have you known people who were fierce about their rights? Have you ever felt the need to address corruption of the powerful? Have you ever felt that you saw no real results from your actions? If so, Jesus says to you through this widow, never ever, give up.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to keep up the fight for justice. Help us to never give up on the power of prayer. Help us to trust that you are at work and can use us even if it sometimes feels hopeless. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

October 31, 2025:  Eunice and Lois – Unsung Heroines – II Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.

Today we come to the end of our two-month journey of meeting some of the women in the Bible. We obviously did not meet them all. There are many unnamed women who still stand in the shadows, but their faith lives on. There are others whose names are known but very little of their story. Family albums always contain some pictures of those whose names we have forgotten or whose images are dulled to yellow over time. They each played a role in the lives we now live. Today we close with a mother and a grandmother who instilled faith in their son and grandson, Timothy. Paul calls Timothy his dearly beloved son. He does not mean this biologically. Rather, Timothy has been by his side through much of his ministry. Paul acknowledges that Timothy was ready for his mission because of the powerful example of his mother and grandmother. They are mentioned in only one verse of the scripture, the one we read today. There is one word in this verse that stands out: sincere. The word in Greek can also be translated as ‘unfeigned.’ What sets these women apart, and makes their witness take root in Timothy is not just their love and devotion toward him, as important as that surely was. What was important was that their faith was not a fake. They did not say words they did not live. They did not try to appear more faithful than they were. They deeply believed and put into practice the ways and values of Jesus. They did this in their home as well as in public. That is indeed a transformative witness. I remember once a young woman came into my office and flopped own into an overstuffed chair. She was electric with energy, and she said, “Eugenia, I beg of you. You have got to tell me the truth. Are you the real deal or not? Is Jesus the real deal or not?” Now, granted those two questions are not equal. Still, I remember how I felt when asked, as I interpreted it, if my faith was as sincere as I claimed it to be. I don’t remember what I said but I do remember that I thought as I prayed later about Eunice and Lois and prayed that the sincerity of my faith might inspire a quest for sincere faith in others along the way. So today, think about Eunice and Lois. Ask yourself about the sincerity of your faith and whether or not your actions mirror that sincerity, at least for the most part. If not, see how you can put the aspects of your life and ethics into better alignment. Know that Eunice and Lois are cheering you on.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to embody a sincere faith and to help raise others up to know you and to love you. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

September 2025 Daily Devotions

Family Album: Meeting the Mothers      Rev. Eugenia A Gamble

Recently, as I continue to go through my mother’s things, I have been pouring over photographs. My mom kept her High School scrapbook from 1943. She kept my grandmother’s scrapbook from 1905. She kept slides of vacations and piles of pictures of holidays shared in the family home where I now live again. Many of the photos are not labeled so I don’t know the date or the identity of some of those pictured. They were so well known to her she could never imagine forgetting them, nor could she imagine not being with me to tell me when I asked. Nor could I. Even though some of the memories are gone with her, each face tells a story of a moment in time special enough to record in some way.

The Bible itself is like a family album for us. There are those we know so well we could never forget them, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, King David, Jesus, Peter, John and Paul. There are a few women standing next to them, or slightly in the background, whose names we remember, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, the three Mary’s in the New Testament. But there are many others whose stories we may not know. Each day this month, we will explore the story of one women from the Bible. We will begin with a look at women from the Old Testament. Next month we will finish up the ancestors from the Old Testament and continue into the New Testament. These devotions are totally inadequate for the more prominent women but will lift up a thread from each life. We will ponder together what we can learn about ourselves, and about God, from each one. If you want to learn more you might enjoy reading All of the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen. The book is old, written the year I was born, but is still available. It is Deen’s chronology that I am using.

1. Eve – In the image Genesis 1:27; 2:18 – So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them….It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.

Whether you understand the stories of creation in Genesis as literal and historical or poetic and truth carrying myth, the mother of humanity, Eve, remains a pivotal figure in our family faith story. For centuries she has been viewed as “The Problem” or “The Temptress” whose allure and grasping for knowledge led to the downfall of us all. She is characterized as derivative, just something made out of Adam’s spare parts. That is indeed a superficial reading of her story! While she certainly made some disastrous choices, let’s take a moment to look beneath the surface of her life and the witness that she bears. As we see in today’s verses she is created in the image of God. Her presence in the story reminds us that maleness cannot define God and that human wholeness cannot exist without reciprocity and gender inclusivity. When one gender dominates our mental images of the fullness of God, we lose much that can help us. In creation God initially created the human being from the earth to be God’s own consort and love. Seeing that the human creature was not satisfied with that and had grown lonely, God divided that one into two parts, so that their loneliness might come to an end. The word we translate as helper, ezer, refers to the one in whose presence we are safe to become all that God dreams for us to be. Just as with Adam and Eve, our own ezer partners are not perfect. Adam is rather spineless, and Eve wants to know more than is good for her. Still, we are all created in God’s image and can show that image to each other, regardless of gender or even our own personal failings. Eve shows us that rebelling against boundaries can cause real harm. She also shows us love that takes a wrong turn for status, or simply to offer her mate something wonderful, can derail the most beautiful journey. She shows us that being a worthy companion and reflecting the glory of God in her daily life is hard work and sometimes there are tough decisions to be made. She is not evil, but’ like all of us, she is susceptible to evil’s lies and knows how to twist things to make evil look good and good look stupid. Even so, in her ‘banishment,’ God uses her for a glorious purpose, to become the mother of us all, to be a co-creator with God. Yes, laboring to bring new life to birth is painful, but as we still learn, it is a part of the reason for which we were born. Today take a few moments to think about the qualities of Eve’s very human life. How does she mirror your life? In what ways today can you do your part in mirroring the creative beauty of God?

Prayer: Creator God, we thank you that you have given us siblings in which we can see glimpses of your fullness. Help us today to reflect your glory in each action that we take. In Jesus holy name we pray. Amen.

2. Sarah – The Mother of Nations -Genesis 12:1-5 – Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse, and in you all of the families of the earth shall be blessed.

The story of Sarah (Sarai) is, like all human stories, a bit checkered. Early in her story, when her husband hears God’s call, apparently she followed along without resistance. It is hard for me to believe that that was the case. Still, we have no witness to any conversation between her and Abram as she packed up everything she had and left everything she knew behind to satisfy a spiritual whim of his.

She was her husband’s half-sister, a not uncommon practice in those days, and was apparently so renowned for her beauty that even in old age, Abram gave her into a powerful leader’s harem because he was afraid that ruler would kill him to get her. For reasons of God’s own, Abram and Sarai are chosen to be the bearers of God’s desires, God’s promises, to the chosen people and, indeed, as we see in today’s verses, to be a blessing to the whole earth and all of its people’s. Still, the fullness of God’s promise of offspring was long in coming. Long after childbearing years, Abram and Sarah sink into everyday life, with the ache of barrenness between them and the unspoken bitterness of promise unfulfilled in their hearts. One day, three men, or three angel messengers, or God in three persons, came to visit. Sarah rushes to provide hospitality and when she overhears their conversation, she laughs out loud at the audacity of what she hears. The men tell her husband that at her advanced age, next year in the greening of spring, she will have a child. Indeed, that happens and she names her son Isaac, which means laughter. Sarah reminds us that nothing is impossible with God. She reminds us that no matter how it may look in any given moment, God is faithful to God’s promises. She reminds us about resiliency and the explosion of unexpected joy and laughter that is always just around the corner for us. She reminds us that hardship may linger, but God’s promises will always be delivered when the time is right. She reminds us that when we have given up on the things we most wanted, new starts, laughter and fulfillment are still on the way for us. Today think about Sarai. (We will see a bit more about her tomorrow in Hagar’s story.) Are there times when you have given up on the good things you once hoped for, or hoped to achieve? Are there times when God’s promises to you seem laughable? Are there times when you think you are unfit for joy? Are there times when the messages of God seem to come to you in totally unexpected ways and moments? As you ponder that, remember that Sarah’s story tells us that joy is never lost forever, that goals can still be accomplished, according to God’s will, when you think there is nothing left in you to give. You were born to be a blessing and so you are.

Prayer: God of Promise, remind us today, as you did our mother Sarah, that the best is still on the horizon and that when the time is right we will bring it to birth. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

3. Hagar – The Mother of Other Nations – Genesis 16:1-13 – (7) The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

In the years before Sarah laughed behind the tent flap at the outlandish promises of God, there was a time when her despair over her barrenness resulted in a family schism that continues today. When the years passed and Sarah had no child, she went to Abraham and suggested that he use her maid, Hagar, as a surrogate to produce the heir they longed for. Hagar was an Egyptian women with no power and little influence as a servant in their home. The practice of surrogacy was not unknown in those days. Progeny were so important culturally, emotionally and financially, that families would often do whatever it took to produce a child. For a woman, barrenness was a terrible shame and stigma. The child of the surrogate was considered in every way the child of the one instigating the surrogacy. When the time of birth came, the woman would cradle the birthing mother between her own legs and push and wail as if she were in labor herself. Hagar’s son was named Ishmael, and he took his place as Abraham’s first born. This gave at least a bit of new status to Hagar as well. It all went well until Sarah’s child Issac was born. Sarah became jealous of Ishamel and refused to accept his higher status over her own son. She went to Abraham and told him Hagar was haughty, and she wanted her and her son banished. Rather spinelessly since he loved Ishmael, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert. This was basically a death sentence. (It is interesting that in some rabbinic writings it is Sarah who was considered more faithful than Abraham in this episode because she would not give up on the Promise of her own offspring.) But God would have none of either the injustice to Hagar or their banishment. In her despair, God came to Hagar, promised that she would survive and that her son would be the father of a great nation. God opened her eyes then to see a spring of water that gave them strength to go forward. The spring had always been there, but Hagar in her pain and bitterness simply could not see it until God helped her to do so. After gathering strength and relying on God’s promise, Hagar and her son went to Egypt. Ishmael became the father of what we now think of as the Islamic peoples. Today, think about Hagar. Have you ever been in a position in which those over whom you had no control took advantage of you? Have you ever been cast out because of someone else’s jealousy? Have you ever felt unable to protect your child? Have you ever given up on life and found yourself curled up and weeping? If so, remember that God is not finished with your story. There are glorious things to come and there is nothing that you can do or that can be done to you that will foreclose on God’s loving plan for you. One way or another, God is by your side and there is a good future in store.

Prayer: O God of the many beautiful paths, we thank you for the witness of Hagar and your promise that you will not allow oppression and injustice to have the last word. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

4. Lot’s Wife – A Woman Who Could Not Let Go – Genesis 19:26 – But Lot’s wife behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Only fifteen words in the Old Testament give us the picture of this unforgettable women. We do not know her given name. Nearly everything we know about her, we know from putting her life in the context of her husband’s. Lot was Abraham’s nephew. Lot and his family lived in the town of Sodom. Sodom was known in scriptures for its wealth, opulent lifestyle, lack of hospitality and unbounded sexuality. When Jesus spoke looking back at the days of Lot, he referenced a time that was known for ‘eating, drinking, accumulation of wealth, and expansion of commerce. These were the reasons given for its destruction (Luke 17:28, 29) We can easily assume that Lot’s wife was worldly, selfish, and spent and entertained lavishly. This is how she has been depicted in much religious art and literature. Lot and his family lived and intermarried with men of low moral fiber. The story of their family life is sordid indeed. And it is that context that creates, and in the minds of many, defines the character of Lot’s wife. The entire chapter in which today’s verse is found is tough to read. It includes Lot offering his daughters to be raped by a mob threatening the guests in his home, angels warning the family to get out of town quickly because Sodom was about to be destroyed for its misuse of wealth and debauchery, to his future sons-in-law not taking it seriously and getting wiped out, to his two daughters getting him drunk and sleeping with him because there were no other men around and they wanted babies. Now whether these stories are historical, metaphorical or a narratives created to explain geographic and historical catastrophes, is up to interpretation. In any case, Lot’s wife is a cautionary tale of a woman who lived with both wealth and porous moral boundaries. Indeed, even today those conditions of privilege are hard for some to leave behind. Lot’s wife couldn’t fully do it. As she and her family fled the fire and brimstone of Sodom’s fate, she stopped to look back. It seems that that looking back was not so much a curious bystander’s stopping at a train wreck. Rather, there was a kind of wistful longing. She didn’t want to leave behind her wealth, status and free-from-consequences life style. In turning back, she became a pillar of salt, inert, immovable, stuck for all time in her inability to let go of her wealth, status and ways. This is by far the dominant interpretation of her life, and it is no doubt well founded. I wonder if perhaps there is more for us to ponder. How adaptable to change are we when we have to leave behind what we know and love in order to start all over? Are there times when we too become frozen by the images of the past, our joys and our sorrows? Are there times when our wealth or permissiveness blind us to the voices of the angels in our lives who live to draw us to health and new starts? Are there things that we could never leave behind, even to save our own lives? What paralyzes us with longing and desire? What are we willing to pay, or to lose, in order to get what we think we must have to be happy? Lot’s wife invites us to ask those questions of our own lives and moment and to ponder the choices we make.

Prayer: Rescuer God, help us to never turn away from your graceful redemption because we think an old way with old values would be preferable. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

5. Rebekah – The Beloved – Genesis 24:64-67 – And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So, she took her veil and covered herself.”

The ancestress Rebekah comes to us in a cloud of romance worthy of a movie script. Even on the page her voice seems lilting, her manner kind, her countenance too beautiful to be seen. The picture the Bible paints of the young Rebekah seems to come with hearts and flowers surrounding it. From the beginning, she is beloved. All the virtues of womanhood in her day seem to coalesce in her. She is chaste, courteous, helpful and trusting. We meet her when she has gone to the well at Nahor to draw water with the other women as evening approaches. Before we pick up the story in today’s verses, Abraham has sent a servant to scour the land to find a wife for his beloved son Isaac. Sarah has died and Isaac is nearing forty at this time and still unmarried and grieving for his mother. The servant Eliezar has prayed to God for help in his mission. No sooner does his amen flutter in the air than he sees Rebekah. He approaches her and she invites him home to meet her family. She offers food, protection, and water for all of his camels, water she apparently draws herself. That evening a bargain is struck for her to marry Isaac. Her family, she is Lot’s sister, is reluctant to let her go but comforted that she is in the family and seems willing. So, she and her nurse Deborah and her maids set off to meet Isaac. She spots him in the fields covers her face with a veil, as was the custom, and met Isaac, probably twenty years older than she. He is smitten immediately and takes her as his wife. The text tells us that he loved her. This is the first known monogamous marriage on record. It is not until twenty years later, however, that she is blessed with the twins Esau and Jacob and she feels that her life it complete. Now, lest we think of Rebekah as a kind of Hollywood stereotype, she has all of the same foibles that beset us all. She has a favorite child, Jacob, while Isaac favors Esau. She connives on Jacob’s behalf for him to trick his brother out of his birthright which sets up family drama and enmity that crosses millennia. When the two sons parted in fury, she did not see Jacob again in this life. Still, the one thing that was always true, through the thick and thin, Rebekah was always loved. Today think about this lovely ancestress. Have there been times for you when you left home to start a new life full of hope? Have you ever experienced love at first sight? Have you ever struggled with favoritism? Have you ever had to resort to trickery to get a blessing for someone you loved? Have you ever done something out of love that wound up having long term negative consequences? How did healing take place?

Prayer: God of love, help us today to see love, even at a distance, knowing that you yourself are Love. Help us to accept your love and, to the best of our ability, drink from its rich well. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

6. Rachel – The Loved One - Genesis 29:10-12 – Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

The story of the much-loved Rachel is a dramatic one. The on-the-run Jacob first encountered her when she was tending her father’s sheep on a low-lying hillside near the ancestral home of Haran. She is the daughter of his mother’s brother, Laban. Jacob has fled nearly 500 miles from his home in Palestine to escape the murderous wrath of his brother Esau. He stops three shepherds to ask where he can find his uncle. He hopes to take refuge and work for Laban. The shepherds point out Rachel to him. He helped her water her sheep as his mother had helped to water his father’s camels. One of his first actions was to kiss Rachel and cry out loud. Some scholars suggest this was the respectful kiss of the hand in greetings. Others suggest that it was a kiss full of the inability to control himself that Jacob often displayed. In either case, we have here a picture of joyful meeting that will shape the future of the covenant people. Jacob returns with her to her father’s house and quickly asks for her hand in marriage. The bargain is struck that he will work for Laban for seven years as a shepherd in order to wed Rachel. This he did willingly. She was gregarious, beautiful, light-hearted and perhaps not as spiritually intuitive as some. Still, Jacob’s love for her lasted to the end of his life. But there was a problem, a problem in the form of an older sister, Leah, whose story we will examine tomorrow. Rachel eventually became mother of two of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph and Benjamin, who became the twelve tribes of Isael. Today think about the beautiful and always loved Rachel. Have you ever experienced the kind of devotion that Rachel experienced from Jacob? What was that like? When I think of Rachel I often think of the iconic photograph taken on VE day after World War II of the young soldier grabbing and kissing a woman on the street. Other than in a physical way, have you ever been responded to with unrestrained love or devotion? Perhaps that outpouring of love has not come from a spouse or partner, but maybe from a child who rushes into your arms at the end of the day. Even if you cannot identify a moment of wonder like that, know this for sure: God greets you with an even more lasting and profound love than Jacob offered Rachel, even when there are obstacles! Our job as we learn from Rachel, is to recognize that love, embrace it, live into it and do what we can to spread it.

Prayer: O God of Sudden Bursts of Love, help us today to see your love and respond to it. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

7. Leah – The Unloved One - Genesis 29:31- When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

As we saw yesterday, there was an obstacle in the love story of Jacob and Rachel. Rachel had an older sister and their father was devious. It was custom in the ancient near east at this time that daughters married according to birth order. Leah was the eldest. We learn through the complicated story of this family, that Leah was not as beautiful nor as outgoing as Rachel. She had weak eyes. We don’t know exactly what that means but it was significant enough to shape her identity. As for many of us, her defect informed how she saw the world with its beauties and its prejudices. The hints of her story that we find in the scripture indicate that she was probably a bit more introspective than her beautiful sister. Leah had a well-articulated prayer life and trusted God to be her comfort. Leah longed for Jacobs love. At the end of Jacob’s seven years of service to marry Rachel, Laban the girls’ father, tricked Jacob by sending into his tent a heavily veiled Leah instead. It was not until the morning that Jacob realized the deception. He then worked another seven years for Rachel. When Leah’s first son, Reuben was born, she cried out, “Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction; now my husband will love me.” Gen. 29:32. There surely must have been tension between the two sisters. For many years Rachel was loved but remained childless and Leah was unloved but bore sons for Jacob. Leah believed that God had blessed her with sons. After her first four sons were born, Rachel could not bear her own barrenness any longer and so offered her handmaid as a surrogate. Her name was Bilhah, and she bore two sons for Jacob. Not to be outdone, Leah’s handmaid then bore two sons for Jacob. Then Leah bore two more sons and a daughter before Rachel bore her two sons and died in childbirth at the birth of Benjamin. God’s plan for the sisters included greatness but it came with hardship. Rachel for decades endured the pain of childlessness while watching her sister’s children play and grow strong. Leah endured the knowledge that her husband did not really love her, although it seems that a mutual respect grew between them. In all of this, for Leah, the true loving partner of her life was God. She attributed every blessing and every dried tear to God’s constant attention and vindication of her honor. She loved her children and her husband. She bore six of the twelve tribes of Israel and one lovely daughter whose story we will consider tomorrow. Today think about Leah. Have you ever thought that you had a defect of some sort that left you overlooked or unlovable? Have you ever known the pain of love not being reciprocated? What compensations has God offered to you when you were hurting? Have there been times of pain or rejection in your life that God has used to elevate you, or that were unexpectedly fruitful? Who are the “children” God has brought to you to comfort you in time of trouble? These could be people, pets, natural wonders, warm friends, or mentors. God can use just about anything to lift us when we are down. Think today about the endurance, faithfulness and love of Leah and see if you can see some of that in your own story as well.

Prayer: God of Everlasting Love, we thank you for your kindness and all the consolations that you bring into our times of difficulty. Help us to never lose our love for you. Open our eyes to your wondrous care. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

8. Dinah – The Abused One – Genesis 30:21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

Leah and Jacob’s final child was their daughter Dinah. Sadly, her story is largely remembered from its darkest chapter. Over the years Jacob has prospered. As time passed, Jacob became homesick and, it seems, spiritually restless. The estrangement between himself and his twin Esau, from whom he tricked his father’s blessing has worn on him. He wants to go home but is afraid of the reception that awaits him. By the time we pick up Dinah’s story, Jacob has wrestled with God at Peniel, reconciled with Esau who has forgiven him, and his daughter is about fourteen years of age. This was marriageable age at that time. When Dinah’s story comes to center stage, the family caravan is encamped in the Shechem valley which was a pivotal migrant pathway between Mount Ebel and Mount Gerazim. This land was in Canaan and Jacob had business with Hamor and his sons who were in that area. Jacob buys a plot of land there and the family settle for a time. Once settled, Dinah wants to go to visit the women of the region. We are not told the reason she wants to do this but it seems natural for a young woman to seek out the company of other women as she settles with her family in a new place. As she is on her way everything changes. A prince of the region, son of Hamor, named Shechem saw her and was so struck by her beauty and innocence that he grabbed her and raped her. This is where the story gets complicated. The scriptures say that his soul was drawn to her, that he loved her, spoke tenderly to her and wanted to marry her. We have no idea how Dinah responded. Throughout the entire narrative she does not speak. Some commentators fill in the blanks as you would expect. Rape is rape and never an act of love and so they see her as outraged and brutalized. Others, drawing from Shechem’s emotions contend that this was a love at first sight story and that she met his emotions. That is hard for me to imagine but still some insist on it, perhaps to soften the horror of sexual violence which can, in actuality, never be softened. Even among God’s people at the time, women had little agency over their own bodies. We can hardly even imagine what Rachel’s and Leah’s handmaidens were required to endure for the sole reason of providing offspring for their mistresses. For whatever reason,  Dinah went with Shechem to his home. Hamor, the local tribal king and Shechem’s father, then meets with Jacob and sets the property terms of the marriage. Shechem is so enthralled that he agrees to pay anything. Dinah’s brothers, however, are outraged. It is not completely clear if the outrage is due to the rape, or the fact that Shechem and his people are uncircumcised. In any case, they demand that all the men of the city be circumcised. In a move that boggles the mind, the men agree. While they are recovering Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, go with swords and kill all of the men and bring Dinah home. She is not heard of again in the Old Testament. Today, think about Dinah. Have you ever felt on the brink of something wonderful and suddenly it all goes away due to no fault of your own? Have you ever been dealt with violently and had to submit to something against your will? Have you ever felt that you were rendered voiceless in your own life story? Have you ever had to deal with the consequences of the mixed motives of those who claimed to love you? Have you ever found yourself defined and remember by the worst thing that ever happened to you? Have you ever been a pawn in the games of the powerful? How are you like Dinah? How are you like the others in her story?

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you that, by your grace, we are not defined by the worst that happens to us. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

9. Tamar – The One Who Insisted on Justice – Genesis 38:6 – Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar.

The story of Tamar is another one that boggles the minds of those of us who cannot understand the sexual ethics of the ancestors. She is the daughter-in-law of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. To understand her life, we must understand the practice of levirate marriage. This custom, required by Mosaic law, was meant to insure the continuity of the chosen people, the promises of God and the retaining of property within the tribe. This law required that if a husband died before having male children, the husband’s brother was required to marry the widow and father children in the name of the dead husband if the two brothers were residing on the same family property. Such was the case with Tamar. When she had lost two husbands, the scripture declaring that both were slain because they displeased God, the younger remaining brother, supported by his father, refused to marry her, fearing the same fate would befall him. What is astounding in her story is that despite the tragedy and shame, she still stood up for her family rights to motherhood and protection. Some have described her as a wicked woman, but the Bible does not by its internal ethical code do so. What did she do that would lead modern readers to condemn her? After her mother-in-law died, she turned to her father-in-law to do the duties of the law for her. It is a tangled tale worthy of a thriller. When Judah goes out for sheep shearing, Tamar takes off her widows clothing, dresses in festive robes with a veil and stands on the side of the road where Judah will pass. Assuming her to be a prostitute he approaches her. She asks what he will pay. He promises to send a kid from his flock to her. She asks for an assurance, so he gives her his signet ring as a pledge. Three months later he is told that his daughter-in-law is pregnant from whoring, and he sends for her to have her burned to death, at which point she presents the signet ring. Judah could not deny its ownership and declares that, according to the law, as it was understood in those days, Tamar was more righteous than he was. She gives birth to twins, the elder of which becomes ancestor of King David. Some have sought to paint Tamar as a harlot, but they have done so using sexual ethics that were unknown to the ancestors. Rather, the scripture depicts her as a woman who insists on her lawful rights and is ingenious enough to use whatever tactics necessary to achieve them. There are other Tamars in scripture, perhaps named for their courageous ancestor who risked death for justice and the continuation of her family and the Promise as well. Today think about Tamar. Have there ever been times in your life when you found yourself denied justice? Have you ever had to strategize to accomplish a just cause? Have you ever used trickery to tame an injustice? Have you ever needed to risk your life to accomplish what you believed to be God’s will for you and the community? How have you acted with courage to deal with injustice? If you can identify moments like that, you can feel a bit of Tamar’s blood flow through your veins.

Prayer: Holy and Just God, help us today to have the courage we need to undo injustice wherever we find it. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

10. Potiphar’s Wife – The One Who Takes Revenge – Genesis 39:6-8b – So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and with him there he had no concern for anything but the food that they ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good looking. And after a time, his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

The women in the Bible are often sexualized either to demean, discredit or depict them as sinners. In the case of Potiphar’s wife, the criticism seems justified. Many years have passed when we pick up the story in Genesis 39. This narrative takes place in the Joseph stories. Joseph was Jacob’s twelfth child and the first with the beloved Rachel. He was by all accounts his father’s favorite. He was the one who was given the multicolored coat with long sleeves. That was the final straw for his brothers who then threw him in a cistern and eventually sold him into slavery in Egypt. In Egypt he was a servant in the home of Potiphar who was the well-respected chief of the king’s bodyguards. Potiphar’s wife is pictured in ancient Egyptian sculptures and on the walls of tombs, as a woman dressed in fine linen with a jeweled belt and crown, painted lips, dark eyebrows and golden anklets. She was the picture of a privileged woman who was not accustomed to hearing the word no. She moved in a setting of elegance and splendor and, she thought that she deserved everything she wanted. In the scriptures there is no softening of her character. She is depicted throughout as wanton and unable to see others as more than objects brought to satisfy her desires. When her husband was away, she tried to seduce the younger Joseph who was the overseer of Potiphar’s household, particularly over his stables, chariots, grain stores and more. He had risen to a position of trust in the household. When Potiphar’s wife made her advances, Joseph resisted her saying that he would not do this wickedness and sin against God. Potiphar’s wife was outraged and continued to invite him to her room for days. Still, he resisted. Finally, one day when he fled from her, she caught his garment in her hand, pulled it from him and kept it. When Potiphar returned, she accused Joseph or trying to seduce her and used the garment as evidence. Her last words in scripture are this lie. As with all lies, someone always pays the price. In this one, it was Joseph who was thrown into prison. Potiphar’s wife is a picture of just how wanton extreme wealth and privilege can become. We see in her a person who thinks she is deserving of everything and cares nothing for what her lies do to others. She can admit no guilt and happily allows others to pay for her broken character. Think about Potiphar’s wife today. We don’t like to try to identify with her in anyway. And mercifully most often we do not. Still, we know that we have character defects as well that spiritual growth requires us to face and release. Has there ever been a time when your desires for something got out of bounds? Has there ever been a time when you refused to take no for an answer and then turned on the one opposing you? Has there ever been a time when you lied to protect yourself or your status and allowed someone else to be scapegoated? Can you, with a measure of humility, identify the ‘Potiphar’s wives’ at work in the world today? How have you resisted their wicked actions? How do you resist those tendencies in yourself?

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to see any errors in our character that harm us or others. Help us to identify the lies that scapegoat others so that we can live and behave with integrity at all times.  In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

11. The Hebrew Midwives – Bringing Life to Life Exodus 1:15-21

 In the book of Exodus, we move into the stories of Moses, the winding process of the people’s redemption from slavery, and eventual entry into the land of promise. The midwives Puah and Shiphrah are pictures of wise resistance. By the time we pick up the story, Joseph has been exonerated. He and his brothers have reconciled and the whole family has come to Egypt to find refuge from famine. They prosper there. Eventually Joseph dies and a new Pharoah arises who does not remember the honorable Joseph. All he knows is that the Hebrew people are growing numerous. They are vigorous and prolific. The land was filled with them. This is always a threat to unjust or unexamined power. When the new Pharoah saw that the Hebrew people are growing in numbers and strength, he spreads the fear filled word to his people that the Hebrew are more numerous and strong than his own people so they must be restrained and controlled lest they weaken Pharoah’s power and control. So, he forces them into hard labor to build great cities. The regime placed harsh taskmasters over the Hebrews and made their lives exceedingly bitter. Those in power were ruthless in their treatment of people they saw as outsiders and whose strength and vigor they feared. In that context of xenophobia and political fear, the king calls the midwives to him and orders them to kill all the sons of the Hebrews at birth. Whether they agreed or not at that time, we do not know. What we do know is that they refused to comply. Eventually, the king called them in and asked them why they had allowed the boys to live. The woman essentially told the king that they couldn’t help it. They said that the Hebrew women were not like the Egyptian women. They were so strong that by the time the midwives arrived at the birthing, the babies were already born healthy and swaddled. We are told that God loved this and dealt well with the midwives. So much so that the Hebrew people continued to grow strong. When his plan with the midwives did not work, the king ordered all his people to throw every son of the Hebrews into the Nile to drown but to spare the daughters. Systemic oppression often results in genocide in one way or another. Labeling of others as different or a threat is the first step in escalating tragedy. Puah and Shiphrah would have none of it. They refused to participate in the evil self-serving orders of the powerful no matter what. In so doing they saved countless lives. I cannot help today thinking about the suffering in Gaza, and in our own detention camps. We know even today that fearful power will do anything. In the stories of these tough little Hebrew midwives, we learn that God is pleased with their resistance. Today think about Puah and Shiphrah. How can you act to support those who are being scapegoated due to the fears of the powerful? In what ways can you resist harsh conditions imposed on others? What skills do you have that you can put to work for the good of people? How can you act with bravery when asked to do the unconscionable thing? Is there a small action for the sake of the oppressed that you can take today?

Prayer: God of Mercy, help us today to use the skills, gifts and resources you have given us on behalf of those who are being harmed or exploited. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

12. Jochebed - The Mother of Moses – Exodus 2:1-4 – 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 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.

Immediately after the story of Puah and Shiphrah’s resistance we come to the story of the birth of Moses, the greatest hero of the Old Testament. Jochebed was the mother of Moses, Miriam and Aaron. Her husband was Amran of the House of Levi. Traditionally she is seen as a mother who has learned to trust her creator in all things. She is so united with the promises of God that she is absorbed with them and exhilarated by them. Descended from the tribe of Levi, she handed down the priestly traditions to her children. Aaron was set apart to be a priest and is considered the bedrock example of the Hebrew priesthood which he practiced for forty years. Her daughter Miriam led the people in song and dance when they crossed the Red Sea and, of course Moses was the great lawgiver and statesman of the people. Today we pick up Jochebed’s story as a young woman and mother in the time when male babies were condemned to die at birth by the order of Pharoah. The facts around her life are difficult to trace. Some suggest that Jochebed was an ancestor of Moses and not his mother, although many names are repeated through generations. Regardless of her name, today we will consider Moses mother. By name she is only mentioned twice in the scriptures, but her stature is not obscured by this fact. In today’s story we see her as the wise and determined mother who does what has to be done to save her child. We do not know how she managed to save Moses for his first three months. Perhaps Puah and Shiphrah played a role. Perhaps she just hid in her home. But by the time he was three months she knew she could no longer take the risk of hiding him. So, she placed her baby in a floating basket and put him into the Nile in the hope that he might be rescued and protected in ways that she could not offer. What faith and courage she must have had while weaving and preparing that sacred little basket! With the help of her older daughter Miriam, she set the basket afloat and set Miriam to keep watch at the spot in the river where Pharoah’s daughter was known to bathe. We will look at more of the story tomorrow when we get a glimpse of the role of the Egyptian princess. Today thing about Jochebed. Have you ever needed to hatch a dangerous plan to safeguard someone or something you loved and valued? Have you experienced or observed a mother of faith making a path for her child to live out God’s call? What are the qualities of ingenuity and faith have you seen in others? In yourself? What are some of the ‘offspring’ of your faith? How can you protect them?

Prayer: God of Creativity and Grace, help us today to have the courage and faith of Jochebed so that we may protect the vulnerable to the best of our ability. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen

13. The Princess of Egypt – The Rescuer – Exodus 2:5 – The daughter of the 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.

When the baby Moses was set afloat in the Nile river by his mother with his sister standing watch, it was not too long before a rescuer arrived in the person of the princess of Egypt. We know little of her story. We can image that she grew up with wealth and ease. Those qualities that distorted her father’s values did not seem to do so with her. More than anything she is remembered for her compassion and willingness to rescue and raise the child Moses. When she and her entourage arrived at the river to bathe, she spotted the baby in the basket among the reeds. The baby was crying, and she was moved with pity for him. When her attendants went to bring the crying infant to her she realized that he must be one of the Hebrew’s children. At this point Miriam jumps from her hiding place and asks if the princess would like her to find a wet nurse for her. The princess agrees and vows to pay the nursing mom until the child grew up enough to come and live with her in the palace. So, Miriam takes the baby to his own mother who nurses him and nurtures him until he is old enough to be presented to Pharoah’s daughter. The princess takes him as her own son, and he is raised in the mansions of Pharoah as a prince of Egypt. The princess names the child Moses. That word resembles the word for drew. She names him Moses because she drew him from the river. She is not heard from again in the scriptures. Today think about the princess of Egypt. Have you ever been moved with pity in an unexpected way? She is a person who seems to lack the cultural and familial prejudices of her day. Have you ever come into contact with someone like that? How can you be more like that? She is also a person remembered for her compassion and her faithfulness to the promises she made. Can you think of times when you have been like her in those qualities? Have there been times when you felt those qualities were lacking?

Prayer: Of God of Compassion, help us to be like this princess, people of compassion and integrity. Help us to see need where it exists and do what we can to alleviate it. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

14. Zipporah – The Wife of Moses – Exodus 2:21 – Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage.

Many years have passed since the baby Moses was found in the bullrushes by the Egyptian princess. Moses grew up strong and prosperous as a prince in Pharoah’s house. His destiny seemed assured. The scriptures tell us nothing about those years. After he was grown, he went out and saw the forced labor of the Hebrew people. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and was moved with fury. It is not entirely clear what he had been taught about his birth or heritage. It is clear in the text that he recognized that these were his people that his adopted family was exploiting and beating. When he saw this he looked around to see if anyone was watching and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian overseer and buried him in the sand. A few days later he saw two Hebrew men fighting and tried to break it up only to discover that they had seen, or heard about, the murder. In fear, he fled his home and settled in the land of Midian, where the priest of Midian, Jethro, had seven daughters. One day he came across the women tending their father’s sheep and he helped them water their flocks. When the women returned to their father and told him what had happened, he invited Moses to dinner. Afterwards he offered his daughter Zipporah to Moses as a wife. She bore him two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Moses went to work for his father-in-law. He was doing that work when he learned of the death of the Egyptian king and the even harsher treatment of the Hebrew people. God then, from a burning bush, told Moses to go back to Egypt and find a way to set the people free. We know little about Moses and Zipporah’s marriage. Some suggest it was contentious due to their differing religions, but I don’t see much in the record to support that, except that it is assumed that it was her objection that prevented the two sons from being circumcised on the appropriate day. They were however eventually circumcised, with Zipporah performing one of the surgeries herself while Moses was deathly ill on their journey to Egypt. She was present at Mt Horeb with her sons. Sadly, Zipporah is never given a voice in scriptures. Some of the commentators who suppose it was a contentious marriage, claim that she was rebellious and lacked spiritual depth. Perhaps so. But perhaps she was a woman in a man’s world who had trouble adapting to a new religion, new family arrangement, and the life-threatening assignment upon which God sent her husband. Still, when the chips were down, she did for her husband what he longed for, circumcised his sons. When he was not able, she did it herself. Today think about Zipporah. Have you ever had a chance encounter that changed your entire life and circumstances? Have you ever struggled to accommodate the beliefs of others without losing yourself in the process? Have you ever followed a spouse, leaving family and friends behind, because that one had a new job? Have you ever struggled with your identity and expected it to be defined by others? Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. If you were her voice, what might you say?

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to adapt as we need to in order to face change. Help us to hold on to what is fundamental and to release what we must for the sake of others. Help us to follow when we do not understand. Equip us to do your will even if it seems outlandish. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen. 

15. Miriam – The Oldest Fragment – Exodus 15:20-21 – Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Miriam is the full human package. She is a guardian of the young Moses a leader of the people, a singer, and a dancer. She is a sibling who later opposes her brother about his foreign wife, and is envious of his position. She is later healed of leprosy by her Moses. She is jealous and strong-willed. She is the first woman in the Bible whose interests were national and not just personal, whose life mission she saw as patriotic. She was brilliant and courageous. She was poised and quick thinking. She was deeply faithful. The oldest fragment of the scriptures ever found contains the song she led the people to sing after they passed through the Red Sea from slavery to the hard work of becoming free. When she led the women of Israel in this song of liberation it was a turning point in Israel’s religious development. She became known as a prophetess. There is no mention of her marriage, although tradition says she married Hur, who with Aaron, held up Moses arms holding the staff of God when he became tired during battle. Still, there is no mention of such a marriage in the scripture. The final scene of Miriam’s life takes place in Kadesh, probably in the Wilderness of Zin. She dies there and like her brothers, does not reach the Promised Land. After her death her funeral was celebrated solemnly for thirty days. She died in the wilderness but her song of exultation to the Lord that signaled Israel’s freedom has never died. Today think about Miriam. She is the first woman singer on record. Have there been moments when you, like Miriam, felt like bursting into song at the wonders of God’s goodness toward you? Have there been times when you became envious over not getting credit that you thought you deserved? Did that envy in any way make you a bit sick? Think about a moment when you realized that your faith was not only personal but also had profound implications for your national life? Can you think of a time when you felt released from some sort of bondage and felt like dancing in the streets. Your ancestor Miriam taught you that. Give thanks.

Prayer: Redeemer God, we sing and dance our praise to you today. You release us from bondage, and we are learning to live free! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

16. Daughters of Zelophehad – Game Changers -Numbers 27:4 – “Why should the name of our fathers be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.

We meet the five daughters of Zelophehad, Mahah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah in the book of Numbers. To understand their extraordinary role in our family story we need to examine some of the laws in the day surrounding inheritance. In the ancient Near east of their time, women had no property rights. If a father died leaving no sons, his daughters received nothing, and all the deceased property was distributed to his brothers or other male relatives. They were the first women to challenge these rights. The five of them marched before Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the whole congregation to state their case publicly. They had to establish that their father, who had died in the wilderness, had not been in the company of Korah who had rebelled against Moses and fled with his compatriots to the wilderness. Once that was established they got to the interesting and groundbreaking legal argument upon which they stood. They argued that the laws were unjust as they robbed their father of the continuation of his name simply because he had no sons. This was so perplexing to Moses that Moses adjourned court and went away to pray. Moses asked God what was the right thing to rule and apparently God said that the women were in the right because Moses comes back into the court assembly and declared “The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them.” Moses goes on to speak to all of the people saying, “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his brothers.” He continues the new law down the line of inheritance in the extended family. The daughters of Zelophehad had filed one of the first lawsuits on record. Jurists to this day still turn to it for guidance declaring that it is the oldest decided case. In Feb. 1924 in the Journal of the American Bar Association, Henry C. Clark describes this case as an early declaratory judgment in which the property rights of women married outside their tribe are clearly set forth.” In effect, the courage of these women allowed in the Mosaic law for the first time for women to be numbered among human beings. Of course, appeals were raised, largely around what would happen if women married outside of their tribes. The gist of the ruling was that the women could marry whomever they wished within the broader family of their father’s tribe. The reasoning for this ruling, which only applied to heiresses, was to avoid the accumulation of too much wealth in any one tribe. These rulings made a lasting difference for many, and they still do. Today’s scripture also reminds us that God always takes the side of justice and equity; and when consulted will always lead to just and equitable decisions. Today think about the five daughters of Zelophehad. Have you ever had to stand up for your rights in court or otherwise? Can you imagine the courage it took for these women to stand before the powerful and declare, in essence, that they too were fully human and entitled to the rights denied them by their gender? Have you ever felt moved to fight unjust laws that objectified some for the benefit of others? If so, then the courage of these ancestors runs through you.

Prayer: Great God of the just cause, help us today to stand up for ourselves, if need be, and for any who are demonized and denied just rights. Give us the courage of our ancestors to do what has to be done. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

17. Rahab – A Woman of Faith – Joshua 2:1-4 – Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So, they went and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out the land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them.

Our ancestor Rahab, mentioned in both the Old Testament and the New, is identified as ‘the harlot.’ As is sometimes unjustly the case for all of us, she was largely defined by her most problematic decisions. Still, even with that, she is remembered not for her profession, but for her faith, humanity and ingenuity. Her story unfolds in the great walled city of Jericho. Known as The City of Palms, Jericho was surrounded by two huge walls. Recent archeological finds have discovered that there was a space of 12 to 15 feet between them. Houses supported by large timbers were built between the two walls. Rahab’s house was one of those. Her story unfolds in a time of military battle and intrigue. Joshua, Moses’ successor, and his army made plans to advance to Jericho on their long journey from slavery in Egypt to the land of Promise. Jericho commanded the entrance to Palestine from the east. While encamped at Shittim, two spies were sent from Joshua to scope out the situation. Because of the strategic situation of Rahab’s house, the spies hastened to it. Word spread to the king of Jericho that Israelite spies were in the city. The king’s men went to Rahab to arrest them, but she lied about their presence and sent the guards on a wild goose chase. She then lowered the spies on ropes from her house and sent them to safety in the opposite direction. First, she extracted a promise from the spies that if Joshua’s army did advance on Jericho that she and her family would be spared their lives and allowed to join with the Israelites. There are two traditions about what happened to Rahab next. One says that she became the wife of Joshua. Another says that she became the wife of Prince Salmon, who may have been one of the spies. If that is so she was the mother of Boaz who married Ruth and became the ancestor of David. She is listed in the book of Hebrews as one of only two women, along with Sarah, in the list of the faithful. (Heb. 11:31)Some of the early rabbis do not refer to Rahab as a harlot but rather an innkeeper. Often innkeepers were not the most moral of the community and sometimes called harlots. In either case, that is not what matters. She was a women of faith. She was kind and ingenious and she risked her life for strangers in trouble for what she believed as a noble cause. Today think about Rahab. Have there been times in your life during which you felt compelled to act for someone in danger? Do you think it is ever proper to lie to protect a life? Have you ever found that you were labeled by your worst behavior? Have there been moments when you turned your life around? If so, you are a bit like Rahab, who is listed in the genealogy of Jesus.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us today to have the courage of Rahab to protect others from harm, and, if needed, to turn our own lives around. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

18. Deborah – A Judge of Israel – Judges 4:4 – At that time Deborah, a prophet, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel.

We find Deborah’s story in the first part of the book of Judges. The time covered in this book, sometimes called the conquest of the land, was bloody and dangerous. When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan river to claim the Promised Land, they found that many other peoples who did not know Israel’s God, or care to, already lived there. This part of our history, rife with blood if not genocide, can feel repugnant to us today. At that time, however, the people, weary from wilderness wandering, longed for a home of their own and believed that God had set aside that land for them and them alone. Scholars tell us that the conquest was not always as bloody as it seems, but it was still a battle. At this time, Israel had refused the typical hierarchy of the rule of kings. They claimed that God alone was their king, and they would follow no other. At the same time, they realized that in times of change and conflict they needed rulers. So, they trusted that when the moment arose, God would raise up a charismatic and God empowered leader for them in order to meet that moment. They called those leaders judges. While they did have a judicial role, they also led the people into battle when called up. Judges were affirmed by the people as what we would today called political leaders. Deborah is the only woman in the Bible who was placed in political leadership by the common consent of the people. She was a prophetess which meant that she was so attuned to the ways of God that she could tell where things were headed and speak of God’s desires. Tradition says that before her elevation to leadership, she was a keeper of the tabernacle lamps. She was a counselor and sat under a palm tree near her home and saw those who needed her counsel. She was an astute observer and counselor of peace.  People came from all over the area to seek her guidance. Still, her greatest service to her people came in time of war. When the men of Israel paled in fear at the threat of invasion, she summoned the great military strategist Barak to help her plan. Together they led her army into battle. She had religious zeal and patriotic fervor, and some have said of her that she became the magnificent personification of the free spirit of the people of Israel. We will see more of her story tomorrow with a story within the story. Today, think about Deborah. Have you ever felt elevated to service in a time of crisis? Even if you would have preferred to sit under your ‘palm tree’ and counsel people to peace? Have you ever had moments of spiritual insight that seemed to push you from one role to another? Have you ever felt like you needed help to do what you believed God desired and sought out the best and brightest to help you? Have you ever overcome your fear and done what you never dreamed possible? If so you, you are a bit like Deborah who is remembered as one of the most powerful spiritual and political leaders of the Hebrew scriptures.

Prayer: God of Peace, help us today to seek peace in all things. When we find that that is not possible, help us to be our best selves and do what we can to restore peace by the means that we have in our control. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

19. Jael – A Woman who Breaks the Rules for her Faith – Judges 4:17 – Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.

Within the story of Deborah, we meet another remarkable woman who did what she believed had to be done for her people even though the action went against a deeply cherished ethical norm. When Deborah called on Barak to go out against the Canaanite king’s far superior army with chariots and multitudes, Barak told her that he would go but not without her by his side. She managed to convince Barak that God would deliver the Canaanite army to them and restore people to the land. So they rode out together.  King Jabin’s commander was a noted warrior named Sisera. A crippling storm arose with floods and mud slides that stuck Sisera’s chariots and made it impossible for his archers and swordsmen to fight effectively. Sisera, abandoning his mighty chariot ran for his life through the blinding rain. He managed to reach the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite. Because the Kenites had been at peace with Sisera’s tribe, he thought he would be safe there when Jael came out and offered him hospitality. Yet, while he lay sleeping, she took a tent peg and a hammer and drove it through his skull killing him instantly. What made her action more storied that one would think, is that she chose to violate an immutable law of desert peoples at the time, the law of hospitality to the stranger. When invited into someone’s tent, it was assumed that not only would one be safe and provided for, but that the host would never surrender the guest to harm for any reason. Jael is revered in our family story, not for her brutality of course. It was a brutal time. Rather, she is extoled by Deborah for her courage to break societal norms for the greater good. The death of Sisera, which Jael credited to God, (always a dangerous practice but nonetheless) led to a time of peace and deepening devotion to God. Today think about Jael. Has there been a time in your life when you had to sacrifice a cultural norm, one that you cherished and believed in, in order to further the common good? We are not always commended for those actions as Jael was. Nor do our attempts always lead to peace and security. If you have been in a Jael-like situation, what were the outcomes? Try to put aside the violence of Jael’s action as you consider her. Most of us have not been called to that except, perhaps in times of war. Still, we are often called to express our faith in ways the culture does not understand or generally affirm. Have you ever felt compelled to something like civil disobedience to further the common good? If so, there is a bit of Jael in you. I hope, however, that you will keep your hammer and tent peg at home!

Prayer: God of surprising callings, help us to sort clearly and cleverly what your priorities are and what our role is in furthering the common good. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen,

20. Jephthah’s Daughter - Noble Obedience – Judges 11:34 – Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah, and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her.

Every family album inevitably contains a picture, or several, of downright tragedy. Jephthah’s daughter is one such picture. Barely a century has passed since the dynamic national wins during the time of Deborah and Barak. The people once freed by the judges now have fallen into idolatry and are threatened with foreign domination again. It is into this time that the picture of a father and daughter come into the story. The father, Jephthah, was known as a faithful man of valor in a time or twisting allegiances. His daughter is painted as a woman of such reverence for God that she was willing to lay down her life at God’s bidding and for the sake of her people. Jephthah’s early life was a bit of a muddle. He was the son of a great leader, Gilead, who ruled over the area of that name. His mother was a foreigner referred to as a harlot. Because of his parentage, at one point his father sends him away into the nearby country of Tob. He became the leader of a cohort of freewheeling raiders. When war broke out between the Ammonites and the Gileadites, the later sought him as their leader. He consented only after a solemn covenant was signed. He led his small army into battle. At one point the troops became discouraged and Jephthah  made a public vow to God. It was a rash and reckless promise, but typical of the time. He vowed that if God would give him victory that whoever was the first from his home to come out to greet him, he would give as a burnt offering to God. He wins and goes home to fulfill his pledge only to have his only child, his daughter rush from the house to greet him. He had thought a servant or a dog would rush to greet him. Not his beloved daughter. But there she was and an oath to God could not be taken back. When he tells her what has happened, she submits with a beautiful, almost lush faith in God and in her father. It seems that the crisis she faced dawned on her slowly, but when it did she asked her father for two months to go the mountains to spiritually prepare herself with her friends. The text says that they go forth to bewail her virginity. As I see it, that is a way of acknowledging that her hopes and dreams for a family and an honorable life had to be mourned by herself and those who loved her. When she returned, her father did with her as he had vowed, not only cutting off her dreams but also putting an end to his family name as well. It is natural for us to recoil at this story, to berate the father’s recklessness and even to bewail her submission. It is natural for us to wonder what kind of monster Jephthah thought his God was to think such a sacrifice was needed or desired. And yet, if we look deeply beneath the ancient and foreign mindset of the story, I expect we too have had moments when we made rash promises that we have come to regret and yet cannot escape the consequences of them. Some few commentators, reflecting on a rather obscure phrase in the story, suggest that during her two-month absence, her father reflected and found a way around the deadly aspect of the vow and rather gave her to God as a celibate servant in the Lord’s sanctuary. We simply do not know. Think today about this daughter. The scriptures portray her as a woman who trusted herself to God come what may in her life. She asked for a time of spiritual strengthening in order to face her fate. Time and again I have seen, in my long ministry, parishioners who get a dire diagnosis and spend the days immediately after in a kind of retreat in which they gather strength and find a deep peace that neither chemo nor death can shake. Have there been times like that for you? Times when all your plans fell down. Times when there was nothing left to do except to gather inner strength and trust God to draw near you and help you face what comes? If so, you have lived a bit of this woman’s wisdom. You have not allowed her legacy to disappear from the earth, even though the text itself never gives us her name.

Prayer: Gracious God, sometimes we read the wild words of ancient scripture and get lost in a foreign land, time and mindset. Yet in even the hardest of texts, if we dig we find the smell of grace and accompaniment in time of trouble. Thank you. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

21. Delilah – The Downfall of Samson – Judges 16:4 – After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.

Even as we all have stories of tragedy in our lineages, we also have no few stories of varmints, cads and horse thieves. Even from them we have something to learn. Delilah is one of those. The picture we get of her from scripture is almost a caricature of the horrible lengths to which evil energy will go to accomplish its ends. From her we can learn both a path not to take, and the consequences of making our choices from a selfish point of view. The ancient rabbis generally suggest that she was a Philistine who lived in the Valley of Sorek, a brook valley that cut through the foothills between the Philistine plains and the highlands of Judah. The Philistine’s long hated Judah and wanted to diminish its strength. Enter the beloved and heroic judge of Judah, Samson. Yet Samson had a problem. He was long on physical strength but short on willpower and moral resistance. The Philistines knew this and sought to work his ruin through the exotically beautiful Delilah. He had at one time been married to a Philistine woman, answering the objections of his Godly parents by simply saying, “She pleases me.” She was a trial in the long run, weeping and being unfaithful. He was also known to frequent a harlot in the region. The Bible indicates that both of these women in some way victimized Samson. The worst of the three was Delilah. Please remember, that while inspired, most of the stories in the Bible we have of women are told in the voices of the men who decided their futures and the lens through which we should remember them. The stories of their complexity are largely lost to us. Whatever the rest of the story might be, Samson, in her presence, became a slave to his passions. His vow to God to protect Judah from the Philistines melted in the arms of the ruthless and alluring Philistine, Delilah. He was undone and completely blind to her deceit and determination to discover the secret of his strength. Day after day while he lay helpless in her arms she pressed him to discover the answer to his remarkable physical strength. When she finally learns the secret, his long hair, that he kept all his life as part of a vow made to God, it was no challenge to render him helpless and have a compatriot cut the hair off, leaving him broken, useless to God’s purpose for him. With his strength gone, the Philistines fell on him and gouged out his eyes. As the Philistine’s celebrated their victory, they called Samson to entertain them. In his pain and fury Samson called on God to pay back the Philistines. He then leaned his full weight on the pillars holding up the place. It came crashing down, killing many present, including Samson. We do not know Delilah’s fate, but she was likely present as well. It is impossible to tell for certain how much of this story is historical and how much is metaphorical. In either case, the moral is the same. Moral weakness leads to destruction and the foreclosure of one’s holy purpose. Further, complicity in the downfall of others, leaves a mark on the soul that becomes attached to one’s name forever. Think today about Delilah. Did she act from patriotic fervor or for money in your opinion? Have you ever used whatever gifts you have to deceive and hurt others? Are there moral choices in your life that leave you open to deception, appetites or certainties that make you either willing to do anything, or vulnerable to manipulation? What have you seen as consequences for the kinds of choices both Samson and Delilah made? Where are you yourself vulnerable to crossing the lines? Take a moment today to pray that God protect you from harming others and give you insight into any destructively manipulative habits in your life that need to change.

Prayer: Great God of Life Lessons, help us today to notice when we fall into manipulative actions. Help us to see what passions have come to destructively rule us, so that we may honor our vows to be your people with integrity. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

22. Naomi – A Migrant Mom – Ruth 1:3 – But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.

Also, during the bloody and turbulent period of the Judges we find a poignant pastoral story of a family’s triumphs and tragedies in the book of Ruth. Naomi was born in Bethlehem and, as far as we can tell, lived a normal and contented woman’s life in those days. She married a man named Elimelech and was the mother of two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. She seemed to have everything she dreamed of until famine hit the land. The family made the hard and lifesaving decision to leave their home and go to the neighboring country of Moab where they had heard that things were better. So, the family moved to a well-watered area in the highlands of Moab east of the Dead Sea. They settled there. The sons grew up and in time married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. We don’t know what happened, but we are told that Elimelech and both sons died. Was it a horrible accident in which all three were killed? Was it disease? Was it just the toll taken by a hard agrarian life? We don’t know. We can assume that it was not too long after the sons marriages as neither Ruth nor Orpah had children. What we do know for sure, is that widows without the protection of extended family were both vulnerable and shamed. People thought that to be left a widow was a judgment from God for the remaining spouse’s sin. There was little opportunity for widows to earn a living, and it was not generally possible for them to own land or start a business. We know that Naomi took her tragedies very hard. How could she not? Her grief was overwhelming, so overwhelming that she changed her name to Mara, which means bitterness. We don’t know how long the three women remained where they were lost in grief and despair. The next thing we see is Naomi deciding that she should return to Bethlehem in the hope that a family member will take pity on her and take her into his household. She has heard somehow that the famine had ended and there was the hope of food and shelter. The three women leave together to make the journey. However, Naomi does everything in her power to get the younger women to turn back. She urges both Orpah and Ruth to go back to their father’s houses where their birth families might find new husbands for them. She begs them, orders them to go home, and prays that God will deal as favorably with them as they have with her. It is clear that there is real affection between the three. At first Orpah and Ruth refuse. They want to go with her to her people whatever may await them. As Naomi’s arguments and commands grew more fervent, and rational, the three stopped in the road and wept together. We will look at what happens next over the next two days, and we think about Orpah and Ruth. Today think a bit about Naomi’s journey to this point. Her young life started with promise and a kind of contented hominess. Then suddenly everything changed, and she found herself helpless and grieving. Have you ever had a moment like that? When you thought you had your ducks all in a row? When you thought your life was on track? When you were content with your family and your place in your community? Have you ever been blindsided by change or grief or rejection? Have you ever suddenly lost your means of support, either financially or emotionally? Have you ever hit hard times and had to leave your home to try to provide a life for your family in another land? Have you ever suffered so long, or grieved so heartily, that you wondered if God had turned on you? Have you ever had a time when your pain seemed to overtake you to the point that it became your whole identity, Bitterness? Have you ever had to make life and death decisions feeling that nothing looked right and you didn’t know if you had it in you? Have you ever felt that the loyalty of those who loved you was not good for them, that their caregiving of you was not in their best interest? Have you ever felt that life was over, that there are no good days left and wondered if even ‘home’ would accept you? If you have then you can identify with where Naomi is at this point in the story, but just hold on! God was not finished with Naomi and God is not finished with you.

Prayer: Gracious God, sometimes our grief piles up on us and we don’t know what to do. We wonder if we have the strength to face an uncertain future. We even wonder if you have turned your back on us. Help us today, to hold on, as Naomi did. Help us to put one foot after the other. New life is right around the corner. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

23. Orpah – A Daughter-in-Law Who Obeys – Ruth 1:4 – These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth.

Orpah’s story is brief and often overlooked. We know nothing of her family or her religion. Did she, in quiet, hold to her Moabite religion or did she convert whole heartedly to that of her husband who was of the tribe of Benjamin? Did she love yellow? Did she make a fabulous lamb stew? Was she gifted as a seamstress? Did she keep the farm animals? Did she weave and dream of more? Did she listen with an open heart to the story of God with the people of Israel? We don’t know. What we do know is that she was a young woman who knew grief and was devoted to her mother-in-law Naomi. And we know one more thing as well. She was obedient and respectful of the traditions of the elders. When tragedy struck, Naomi was left as head of the household. Orpah, as she tried to put her life back together, seems to have transferred the loyalty she had for her husband to her mother-in-law. When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, Orpah was ready to stay by her side and go with her. The custom in those days, under the circumstances, would have been exactly what Naomi urged. The young women would return to their birth families, to their mother’s house, to the protection of their fathers, who would find new husbands for them. But for reasons we must read between the lines, Orpah did not do that. On the long foot journey to Bethlehem, Naomi continued to urge the young widows to go home. Somewhere along the way, Orpah agreed. They kissed each other, wept, and she left Naomi and Ruth to their futures and went home to her mother’s house We do not know what became of her. What we learn from Orpah is that obedience to her mother-in-law’s request was more important to her than the affection that kept her close. Sometimes the greatest affection we can show someone who loves us and has our best interests at heart, is to do what they ask of us, knowing that the request is rooted in love and a wisdom we may lack. Think today about Orpah, have you ever felt compelled to be obedient when your heart tugged in a different direction? Have you ever had to wrestle with a fork in the road? What helped you make that decision? How do you listen to the wisdom of the elders when you are confused or hurting? Have you ever chosen to forge your own path when those closest to you made a different choice? It is important as we think about Orpah that we remember that, just as we will see tomorrow with Ruth, sometimes there is more than one faithful option before us. Orpah gives us a picture of a person who is obedient and trusts in tradition. There are times in our lives when this ancestor has much to teach us as well.

Prayer: God of Many Paths, we thank you that you give each of us a chance to make choices in times of trouble. We thank you for Orpah’s lessons in respect and obedience where it is due. Help us to discern those that we can trust to lead us and make our choices accordingly. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

24. Ruth – The Unshakeoffable One - Ruth 1:4 – These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth.

The story of the Moabite widow Ruth, who becomes the ancestress of King David and ultimately of Jesus, is richly drawn in the book of the Bible that carries her name. She, with her mother-in-law Naomi and sister-in-law Orpah, find themselves facing tragedy and an uncertain future. All three unexpected widows must find a way to survive in a world that was not always kind to widows. Naomi is from Bethlehem and decides to go home there. Is she searching for life and protection? Does she just want to go home and die? The depths of her motives are left to our holy imagination. On the journey, Naomi, urges the young women to go home to their birth families. Eventually Orpah obeys and Ruth utters some of the most profound and beautiful words ever uttered. These words are often read in wedding services today, even though they are spoke from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law. Read them now and see if you can open your heart to the majesty of them. “Do not press me to leave you, or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus with me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” With those words, Naomi gives up her urging of  Ruth to return to her mother’s house and the two continue their journey to Bethlehem. We are told that they arrive at harvest time. This little note interjects a wonderful hopefulness into the story. In a hilarious turn, Naomi orchestrates a plan to offer Ruth as a wife to her kinsman Boaz. It is a boisterous and bawdy plan that works. Ruth and Boaz happily marry, and she becomes the mother of Obed who is the father of Jesse who is the father of King David. Matthew includes her in the genealogy of Jesus. What is most striking to me is that Ruth is the only human being in the Hebrew scriptures of whom the word ‘hesed’ is used. In all other incidents it is used to describe God’s faithfulness and steadfast love. I translate hesed as ‘un-shake-off-able-ness. In using the word to describe Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi, the biblical writers give us a glimpse of how that quality of God can be manifest in us as well. Today think about Ruth. Have you ever found yourself showing Ruth’s kind of steadfastness? Perhaps it is easier to see it in others when we can identify it in God. How have you experienced God faithfully sticking by your side no matter the circumstances? Have you ever seen that best by looking back? What is important to remember is that human faithful, steadfast love is modeled on God’s own steadfast love of us. God will not allow us to shake God off. It is a promise.

Prayer: O God of steadfast love, help us to cleave to you as you cleave to us. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

25. Hannah – A Woman Who Prays for a Child – 1 Samuel 1:2 - He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Hannah is presented in the Hebrew scriptures as an ideal for motherhood and devotion. She is the mother of Samuel, one of the greatest Hebrew prophets and the last of the “judges of Israel.” Her story is found in the first two chapters of the first Bible book named after her son. It is a story filled with love, care, confidence and expectation. She was a woman of prayer in a time that was not conducive to prayer. Israel had lapsed in both devotion to the law of Moses, and the morality that law inspired. Her husband, Elkanah was a good but easy-going priest. Remember that polygamy was common and accepted in those days and Elkanah had another wife named Penninnah. Penninnah had children but Hannah did not. Still, she believed to her core that God would open her womb and give her a child. She prayed for this blessing constantly. Each year she went from her home in Ramah to the temple of Shiloh to pray for a child. Although we are told that she was her husband’s favorite wife, the journeys to Shiloh each autumn were difficult for her. The whole family made the trek alongside many other families. Hannah saw the children and their parents, and Penninnah and her children.  The ache in her only grew. When Elkanah made the required sacrifices he gave portions to Penninnah and their children and a worthy, but smaller, portion to Hannah since she had no children. Penninnah was jealous of Hannah and taunted her on the journey. Hannah never returned hurt for hurt. On one fateful trip, it all became too much for Hannah. She wept and refused to eat. Elkanah was distraught and tried to comfort her, asking if he was not more to her than ten sons. We don’t have her response. We do know that she rose and went to the sanctuary where she poured her soul out to God. In her prayer she promises that if she has a male child she will dedicate him to God’s service. Eli, the priest at Shiloh, sees her and thinks she is drunk. She then tells him of her sorrow and Eli joined with her in prayer. Her prayer was answered, and Samuel was born. Her song of joy is one of the most beautiful and heartfelt in all of scripture. Hannah is true to her promise to God regarding her son. As soon as he was weaned, she began to train him for his role in the priesthood. She dressed him in a special gown and took him to the tabernacle where she would leave him in the care of Eli. When she had done this, she prayed her remarkable joyous prayer in which she celebrates God’s goodness and entrusts her son to God’s service. Each year when the family returned to Shiloh she brought her son a new robe that she had lovingly stitched. Later she had three sons and two daughters. Think about Hannah today. Have you ever longed for a child and been unable to conceive? Have there been other life dreams that seemed long delayed in your life? Hannah had a deep faith that God wanted good for her and would respond to her heartfelt prayer at the right time in the right way. Have you had that experience? Do you find that you pray more for something and less in gratitude when you receive something longed for? If you have children, have you had a time when you let them go into their future? Remember that the power in Hannah’s prayer was her trust in God. It burst from her in gratitude and sustained her in hardship. How would you like to be more like her?

Prayer: God of Grace we pour our hearts before you today….trusting that you are at work in our lives and the lives of those we love. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

26. Ichabod’s Mother – A Mother Without Hope – 1 Samuel 4:19-22 – Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth for her labor pains overwhelmed her. As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed. She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God has been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

In many of our families there is a member who succumbs to despair. Ichabod’s mother is one such character in our faith family. She was married to Eli’s son Phinehas who was greedy and immoral. Trained to be a priest in the line of his father, both he and his brother were known to sleep with prostitutes on the steps of the tabernacle and to steal from the monies given to the support of the tabernacle. They were guardians of the ark of the covenant, that mysterious and sacred symbol of God’s loving and leading presence that guided the people. At this time war broke out with the Philistines. Phinehas and his brother had been guardians when the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines. Both of Eli’s sons were killed in that battle. When Eli heard the news he fell and broke his neck. Ichabod’s mother, Phineas’ wife was pregnant at this time. When she heard the tragic news she went into premature labor and died shortly after giving birth to Ichabod. The women who attended the birth told her not to fear. She had a healthy son. Still nothing could break through her despair. She had no hope even for her child. Was it her despair at the capture of the ark that was the final straw for her? Some suggest so since she named her child Ichabod which means ‘the glory has departed.’ Others think that her despair was much deeper. They suggest that the years of being tied to an immoral husband, and her helplessness in the presence of that, so eroded her faith and stamina that when the tragedies came to a head she did not have the resources to withstand the complicated delivery of her son. Nor could she imagine raising him in a ravaged land with no male family members for protection. Whatever the cause of her despair, we are not given her name and her son in not mentioned again in the scriptures except for a mention as someone else’s brother in 1 Sam 14:3. Think today about Ichabod’s mother. Have you ever known personally, or witnessed, a despair that saw no hope for the future? Many have. Have you ever received tragic news that seemed the last straw for you? Have you ever been worn down by the difficulty and immorality that surrounded you? I am assuming since you are reading this, that you did not lie down and die. How did you find hope again? Was there anyone, like the birthing attendants in this story, that stood by you in hardship and whispered hope into your ear? If so, thank God for those ones and for the life force in you that brought you through. Not every character in the Bible is a role model, obviously. Ichabod’s mother is however a person to ponder so that in our lives, or others’, we may recognize how deadly despair can be, pray fervently, and offer what hope we have to them.

Prayer: O God, sometimes we are at the point of despair. Nothing around us seems hopeful and we are worn down by it. Sometimes people we love find themselves in that hopeless circumstance. Help us to draw on a faith we may not feel. Help us to rest in hope and offer that hope to others. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

27. Michal – The One Who Had Had Enough – 1 Samuel 14:49 – Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua, and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first born was Merab, and the name of the younger was Michal.

Michal was the daughter of King Saul, the first King of the united Israel, a mercurial and sometimes insecure and ruthless father, and his wife Ahinoam who was a gentle and patient mother. David was first promised Michal’s older sister as his wife, but King Saul reneged. Saul’s relationship with David often seemed marked by jealousy even as David was a young man of modest means. Saul placed tests before him that seemed designed to cause him to fail, especially after David’s defeat of Goliath. The test to gain Michal’s hand was particularly brutal. When David succeeded, the king had no choice but to offer Michal to him. She was David’s first wife, and she loved him dearly. Even so, her father continued to try, by strange means, to kill David. Michal was distraught by this and began to plot how she could save him. Word came to her one evening that her father was sending someone to kill David the next morning. She warned her husband and let him down through a window and he escaped. David was well on his way to escape when Michal took a large image that resembled a sleeping David and put it in his bed. When Saul discovered the trick he could not believe his daughter had deceived him. She lied to her father, who was struggling with his own demons by this point. For some time after this David lived as an outlaw on the run. After time passed, Saul arranged for Michal to marry Phalti and it was a number of years before David and Michal met again. During this time David married Abigail and Ahinoam. When David became Saul’s successor as king, he demanded that Michal be returned to him. But things had changed between them. When David marched up to Jerusalem with the returning ark of the covenant, he was accompanied by 30,000 men in an exultant dance. David wore nothing but an ephod, a kind of apron and when Michal saw this display, she despised him and ridiculed him. She had a queenly demeanor, and this was too much for her.  Their estrangement progressed from there. She had no children and disappears from the narrative shortly after. We don’t have much of a record of Michal’s own faith. We know that as a young woman she was a dedicated and intelligent wife who loved her husband and risked her own life to save him. But life took a toll on her. She was torn away from two husbands. She saw family members hung for her father’s wickedness. She watched her father descend into madness and her husband David become more and more distant and behaving in ways she despised. Today think about Michal. Have you ever had a relationship that began with love and descended into bickering and disgust? We are not told if Michal turned to her faith for consolation or if she just became more bitter. Have you ever felt like you were a pawn in the hands of those more powerful than you? Have you ever recoiled at the behavior of someone close to you? Were you able to get over it? Have you ever struggled with something you thought was immoral or unseemly that others seemed to accept? How did you respond? If so, you know a bit about Michal in your own life.

Prayer: Gracious God, sometimes our lives take turns we cannot predict or prevent. Help us today to see your hand of grace in it all. Fill us with the blessing of forgiveness and help us to move on. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

28. Abigail – A Wise Mediator – 1 Samuel 25:3 – Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite.

Abigail first married to a rich drunkard, Nabal. Later she became a wife of King David. She might be called the first woman pacifist on record. She is thought by many scholars to be the wisest woman in the Old Testament. From the time David met Abigail, both his devotion to God and his destiny seemed to improve. She first met him when he was a wandering shepherd in Paran, fleeing the mercurial wrath of king Saul. At that time, one of the richest men in the area was Abigail’s husband Nabal who had some three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. Abigail was known to be a great hostess and frequently held lavish feasts for friends and local associates of Nabal. She is described as beautiful, wise and efficient in running her large household. At one point, David, who had gathered about six hundred followers and shepherds to accompany him, ran low on provisions. Since he and his men had helped out Nabal’s shepherds earlier, it was quite natural for him to send ten men to Nabal to ask for food during a time of festival. Nabal was drunk and reviled both David and his emissaries. Word of this reached Abigail through one of David’s men who reminded her of the protection David had offered to her husband’s flocks. He also reminded her that he had come in peace, and their request was just. She went to work immediately providing special food for David and his men. She supervised the baking of two hundred loaves of bread, the preparation of five sheep, five measures of grain, two wineskins of wine, one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred fig cakes. She had them loaded onto donkey’s and went with them to deliver the supplies. By the time she arrived at David’s encampment, the future king was already fuming that Nabal had refused to compensate him. She overheard him plotting to destroy his entire household. Abigail fearlessly went to David, basically told him that her husband was a drunken fool and offered the food she brought as compensation. In that encounter she saw a deepening faith in David and praised it. She predicted that he would be great. Of all of his eight wives (remember that marriage was understood very differently in the time of the ancestors than it is today) Abigail was the one who helped awaken David to God’s providential plan for his life. She opened his eyes to see God’s deep love and care for him. After completing her mission she went home quickly. Nabal was still drunk. When he sobered up and she told him how near he had come to losing everything due to his inhospitality and injustice, Nabal became violently ill and died ten days later. When David heard the news, he sent for Abigail to be his wife. Little is recorded of Abigail after her marriage. Still her story is rich with wisdom, insight, humility, generosity and willingness to sacrifice to keep her family safe. Without her the story would have been very different for thousands of people. Today think about Abigail. Who have been your Abigails? Who are the ones who read the signs of the times and move out with justice and compassion to right wrongs? Who are the wise and discerning ones in your life? Have there been times when you were like Abigail, reaching out, even from difficult personal circumstances, to be a peacemaker and justice doer? If so, that is the story of Abigail working itself out in you!

Prayer: O God, we thank you for the wise and discerning peacemakers in our lives and world. Help us to be in their number! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

29. Woman of Endor – A Cave Woman Who Tells Fortunes 1 Samuel 28:7-25 – Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

Different translations of the scriptures have called this woman many things. She has been called a woman with a familiar spirit, a medium and in modern writing dubbed the witch of Endor. We don’t know much about her, but can make some educated guesses. In all likelihood she was a wise old person who had resorted to fortunetelling to earn her living. She lived in a cave, and many went to her seeking her counsel. Still, by her magic and means, she broke laws set down for the people of Israel. Look at Leviticus 19:31 as an example. “Do not turn to mediums and spiritualists; do not seek them out, to be defiled by then: I am the Lord your God.” Still, at this time king Saul was becoming more and more volatile, frightened and paranoid. He was jealous of David, disrespected by his son Jonathan, and reviled by his people. He was facing new military threats. He needed help. Earlier he had expelled all the mediums and wizards from the land, but facing a new threat, in his fragile state of mind, he decided to go and seek advice of the medium of Endor. He took with him a retinue of others, disguised himself and approached her cave on the outskirts of town. It was probably lined with animal skins to keep out the wind and cold. In summer its portal was open and dark. It was nowhere anyone would expect the King of Israel to go. It is striking just how alone he is even with his kingly retinue. His prophet and mentor Samuel has died, and he has nowhere to turn. When he greets the woman, she is cautious. Whether for her own safety or the king’s, she reminds him of the way he had rid the land of people like her. Through her powers, either magical of pure wise intuition, she realizes it is Saul, and conjures the spirit of his beloved Samuel who foretells Saul’s downfall and death. No longer able to battle his inner demons, Saul falls to the ground in fright. She then puts aside her medium status and tends to the old, frightened man. She had him placed on her bed. When he was rested enough she made him a meal and urged him to eat and regain his strength before returning home. That was probably the last meal he would ever eat. The next day the Philistines capture the king. They kill him, cut off his head, and attach his body to the wall of the city. Think today about the medium of Endor. Have you ever felt pushed to the margins of society because your gifts or insights were seen as evil or polluting? Have you ever had to earn your living in a way that may not have been for your greater good? Have you ever felt like you had special spiritual insight, that you could see what was logically coming next? Have you ever found yourself offering comfort and service so someone who was ashamed to be seen with you? Have you ever tried to help someone whose life was spinning apart? Have you ever sought out spiritual shortcuts? If so, you know a bit about the life of the medium of Endor.

Prayer: O God, you give each of us many gifts. Help us always to use them for the good of others and in ways that accord with your will. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

30. Rizpah – A Guardian of the Dead – 11 Samuel 3:7, 21:8 – Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah.

The poignant story of Rizpah stands out for its steadfastness and its tragedy. Rizpah was  one of Saul’s concubines. These were lesser wives who enter into a marital relationship of a secondary status. They are not mistresses of prostitutes. Rizpah’s story is heartbreaking. Her tribulation was largely the fault of Saul. She had two sons by him. At his death she was appropriated by Abner, Saul’s general and the regent for his son who, according to the laws of the day, would have inherited her. The two men argued about her. It is a twisted tale indeed. During David’s reign a famine descended upon Israel. David believed that this was due to Saul’s unavenged conduct toward the Gibeonites. To, in his mind, appease God, David had Saul’s descendants hanged. This included Rizpah’s two sons as well as Saul’s five grandsons. Taking up sack cloth, Rizpah keeps watch over the bodies for nearly four months until David hears of it and has the men’s remains buried in the family graves. Alone on a weary rock, day after day, she kept watch over the dead so that their bodies would not be further defiled by dogs and vultures. It is one of the most heart-rending pictures of maternal love imaginable. Even in death she tried to protect her sons. From a queen in the palace of the king, she descends into the grief of a woman who has no power to even honor her dead. Her endurance and love are profound. Several years ago, I saw a picture online of a young woman prostrate on the grave of her fallen soldier husband. It was almost too sad to look at. And yet there are many in our day as well, who mourn children and spouses whose lives were taken too soon, especially these days in Gaza, not far from where Rizpah mourned. My fervent prayer is that none of you have known this kind of tragedy, but I bet some have. Today think about Rizpah. Have you ever known profound grief? Have you ever kept vigil with a loved one and refused to leave their side? Have you ever sought a way to honor a dead loved one? Have you ever found that there was no one willing to listen to your story of injustice? Think today about the emotional cost of deep love. How do you show faithfulness to those you love, living or dead?

Prayer: O God, sometimes love come with such unexpected agony. Help us today to show the courage, tenacity and integrity of Rizpah in the face of grief or injustice. Help us to remember and trust that help eventually arrives. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 2025 Daily Devotions

The final verses of John 8 show us just how the establishment chose to make sense of Jesus when they couldn’t see past their own blinders, habits of mind and convictions. They did what we all often do when threatened and knocked off balance, they decided he was crazy and should be either ignored or disposed of. Chapter 9 gives us Jesus’ third healing story. It is about a man born blind and deals poignantly with both physical and spiritual blindness. This long and wonderful story shows us what life is like for the ‘blessed, healed, redeemed and enlightened’ who live in a fear-based world unable to accept the light of Christ. Remember, that John was probably written during the time shortly after the followers of Jesus, who believed that he was Messiah, were expelled from the synagogue. Prior to that, Jesus’ disciples understood themselves to be a reform movement within Judaism. That soon became untenable for both sides. The bitterness of the conflict in these verses is best understood against that background.

August 1 – John 8:48-49 – The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” [There was long standing antipathy between Jews and Samaritans, centuries long. Each believed the other had perverted the faith. Each believed that they were the only true descendants of the 12 tribes. Surely they know Jesus is not a Samaritan, but they can come up with no other explanation for him. He was either a heretic of possessed by a demon. This is pure projection! When the powerful are threatened, or any of us really, it is common for us to project our own evil or brokenness onto others. It is easier to say “This guy is nuts” than to listen, look within and open up. The word ‘demon’ was used to describe any presence, force or process that was destructive to human life, truth, and that made it difficult to see and enjoy God.]

            Prayer: Dear God, it is so easy to project our own unhealed hurts on to others and vilify them rather than try to understand them. Help us today to examine our hearts for any hardness. Open us up to receive your word and will afresh, even if it makes us uneasy. We want to meet and serve you. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 2 – John 8:50-51 – “Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my words will never see death.” [‘Judge’ again is krisis which means to separate and force a decision.  ‘Very truly’ is literally Amen. Amen. This is a signal formula used to introduce major and for all time teaching. ‘Keep’ means to watch over and guard from harm. There are a number of words for ‘see’ in Greek. A general word for to see with the eyes is horao. It also means to be subject to. The word used here, however, is from the root thorao which means to discern clearly. What he is saying is that those who live in the light and guard that light will never (never ever…the word is a strong one) see death as having any power for them. They will always see it as a passage to what is even greater.]

            Prayer: Dear God, sometimes we can see neither with our hearts nor our minds. We look on the surface of things when depth is called for, so we look for answers to the wrong questions. Forgive us and help us to discern clearly your presence and your promise. Heal our fear and calm our wandering minds. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 3 – John 8:52-53 – The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our Father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” [How these folks could have missed what Jesus was saying so totally is a testament to how conditioning and literal mindedness miss all nuance! They think (as did many of Jesus’ early followers, by the way,) that he is saying that their biological bodies will not literally die. So, of course, they use that misunderstanding to harken back to what they see as a greater authority: Abraham. If Abraham died, then just who did Jesus think he was? The phrase they use here is interesting. They don’t ask Jesus who he thinks he is, like we might. They ask, rather, who are you elevating yourself to be?]

            Prayer: Dear God, it is so hard for us, too, to imagine eternity. What does it mean for us to live forever? As we watch friends and family members leave this life, as we prepare for that in our own hearts, as we watch the toll of covid-19, of cancer, of violence, help us to see beyond our senses. Helps us to live beyond our fears. Help us to rest in your certain love, to trust that for us the future is always bright and filled with love and restoration. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 4 – John 8:54-57 – Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”[There is a lot here. In the first verse, Jesus is basically just saying, “I’m not elevating myself to be anybody.” Then it gets even testier. The word for ‘know’ (ginosko) in ‘though you do not know him’ is the word for coming to know from intimate experience over time. The word for ‘know’ in ‘But I know him’ is from oida which means to have seen or perceived from observation absolutely. For any of what Jesus is saying to make sense they must see from a much broader perspective.]

            Prayer: Dear God, how can we see from the wide and wild perspective of eternity in which there is no time? It boggles us. And yet it is our truth. We are living already in ‘eternity.’ Help us then, to stay in the moment with love. Help us to search each breath for the whispers of your eternal Spirit breathing in and through us. Help us to lift our hearts and live with the confident hope of never-ending love and life. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 5 – John 8:58-59 – Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple. [Here Jesus uses the Divine Name (I AM) to try to help them see who he is and from whence he really came. It is too much. They can only hear blasphemy (which is the charge that actually sticks for his crucifixion). The penalty for blasphemy is death by stoning. In writing about this verse, St. Augustine said “As man he fled the stones, but woe to the ones from whose hearts of stone God flees!”]

            Prayer: Dear God, where are hearts are hard, soften them. Where we dismiss the ones you send to help us see, forgive us. Take the stones from our hands. Help us to hold, even our most deeply held understandings to you in uplifted hands for further illumination. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 6 – John 9:1-2 (third healing story) – As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [The ancestors believed that everything that happened came directly from God by intention, good or bad. So, if something bad happened it had to be a matter of God’s justice. Therefore, they thought of all illness as having a theological origin. Job being an exception. Remember too, that for John blindness was a symbol for lack of insight, spiritual darkness. Hearing this story read to them, John’s community would have been on their toes thinking, ‘What this man really needs is to see Jesus!]

            Prayer: Dear God, why is it that we need somebody to blame for everything, even if that someone is you? What would it be like for us if, in praying with these verses, we focused not on trying to understand suffering and assign blame, but rather, on the fact that you walk near, see with your own eyes what we are going through and move to respond? It would be like a peace that passes understanding, wouldn’t it? Help us, Lord, to live in that peace and to share it with others. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 7 – John 9:3 – Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind do that God’s works might be revealed in him.” [There are times in the gospels when Jesus does acknowledge a connection between illness and behavior. Not here. Here he says that nobody caused the problem. Rather, it was permitted and would be made useful. Trouble often provides the means through which God’s greater power can be discerned. Jesus is talking about the context of this man’s spiritual transformation. That is the glorious work that will be revealed, as we will see.]

            Dear God, Help us today to remember that nothing with you is ever wasted, no situation, no opportunity, no hardship, no failure, no suffering. In everything you work for good and use even the painful circumstances that we cannot avoid to bring transformation. Help us to open ourselves to all of your healing work. Use us today and every day to show your glory. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 8 – John 9:4 – “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” [It is not immediately clear to whom the ‘we’ refers. Is Jesus talking about him and his followers? Is he speaking in such a way as to urge his detractors inclusion? Is he speaking of himself in the Godhead? The verse has a nuanced meaning in each case. The word ‘work’, erga, simply refers to what one does. ‘Day’ and ‘night’ in John always point to enlightenment and its lack. In a sense, Jesus is day, and his absence is night.]

            Prayer: Dear God, you are our light and in you there is no darkness at all. Shine brightly on us and within us today, that we and others may see more and more of your truth. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

 

August 9 – John 9:5 – “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”[‘As long as’ could better, in my opinion, be translated as ‘when.’ When Jesus is present, enlightenment flows. ‘World’, kosmos, refers to the earth. It is sometimes used to refer to the present condition of the whole universe. John does not use ‘world’ in the negative sense that Paul does to refer to systemic sinfulness in individuals or groups. John refers to that concept as darkness.]

            Prayer: Dear God, each day you fill the world with the light of your love and truth. Sometimes we forget to notice and so we stay stuck. Even then, light pours forth from you, throughout the whole universe. Where you are, the light of love shines. Thank you! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

           

August 10 – John 9:6 – When he said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes,” [The use of spittle for cure is ancient and rooted in the belief that the life essence of a person was contained in their bodily fluids. This ancient thinking lay behind a number of the odd holiness codes. It was why menstruating women were considered unclean. It was why semen was considered sacred. (You can see the gender bias there, I assume.) In this context, people probably thought that a bit of the power of Jesus was contained in his saliva so making a paste from that would be powerful medicine indeed.]

            Prayer: Dear God, You share your essence with us in so many ways! In the sacred words of scripture, in the mysteries of nature, in the blessed sacrament, in your indwelling presence. We thank you, O God, that we do not have to search for you. You have already found us and offered us every healing gift we could possibly need. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 11 – John 9:7 – saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. [ Jesus uses a different word for ‘see’ here. This word comes from the root blepo which means both to see with the eyes and to see with the mind and heart. In other words, physical and spiritual sight. In Greek there are several words that mean ‘to wash.’ Plyno means to wash a garment. Louo means to wash the whole body. Nipto means to wash only a part of the body. Nipto is used here. He only needs to wash his eyes. To the early readers this would have had great significance! Jesus was reaffirming that sin was not the problem. He did not need the ritual cleansing of whole body washing.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we want to see with eyes, minds and spirits! Help us to cleanse, with your presence and essence, anything in us that gets in the way of that. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 12 – John 9:8 – The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” [People with disabilities had no choice but to beg in the ancient world, unless, of course, they had family money. Begging was accepted but frowned upon because people blamed the disabled person for his fate.]

            Prayer: Dear God, how many times have we seen your children, broken and in need, and passed by with judgement? No, don’t tell us. We couldn’t bear it. How many times have we been surprised by the transformation of someone we had given up on? Help us today to trust that you are at work in every person, in every circumstance. Help us to be those who see potential and offer hope and not those who are stunned that others might really change. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 13 – John 9:9-10 – Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” [The whole community is flummoxed. So much so, that they don’t even trust their own sight!]

            Prayer: Dear God, sometimes your greatness is too much for us to comprehend. We look at the grace of our own lives and can hardly believe it. We see how we ourselves have grown in spirit and hardly recognize our old small selves. Oh God, may we be people who, when other see us, they marvel at what has happened in our lives so much that they ask again and again. Help us each time they ask to simply say: “Jesus!” Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 14 – John 9:11 – He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” [I love this verse! It reminds us that healing is participatory. Jesus saw, acted, commanded action. The man obeyed. The point here is that healing (emotional, spiritual or physical) is entered into through obedient action.]

            Prayer: Dear God, concretely and specifically show me this day what I am to do to partner with you in my own continued healing and transformation. And one further request, when you show me what to do, strengthen me with you own power to respond in obedience. Without your help, there is no hope. With you, there is everything I need. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 15 – John 9:12 – They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” [It is interesting that Jesus did not feel it necessary to accompany the man to the pool. He simply offered his essence, gave direction and set the man off to follow through.]

            Dear God, Sometimes my zeal exceeds my follow through. I expect you, not just to guide me to right action, but to take my hand and walk me through it. Sometimes that is what I need and I trust that in those times that is what you will do. Sometimes what I need is to grow up and take responsibility for my own healing by doing as you suggest. Help me Lord to claim with confidence the freedom that you offer. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 16 – John 9:13-15 – They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” [Yikes! It was Sabbath and no work was allowed on Sabbath. Emergency healings could take place if the person might not live until the next day. Or one could get one’s ox out of a ditch to prevent it being injured and the like. Still, this man had been blind all of his life. Why did Jesus not wait until the next day? Sabbath was always intended as a day or reorientation of our hearts and lives toward God. Not knowing how, or even really wanting to do that, we set elaborate rules that gave boundaries to the day. In doing so, we sometimes substituted rules for being ruled, custom for reorientation. That is an over simplification, obviously. There is much that is truly holy about the ancient Sabbath practices. But for the purpose of this text, the issue is that to adhere to the rules would have been the opposite of reorienting life toward God. Those who took the man to the Pharisees may not have taken him for judgment or they might have. The Pharisees were scandalized in either case.]

            Dear God, sometimes we, too, are scandalized by your love that knows no boundaries and refuses to stay in the neat boxes in which we so carefully try to place it. Forgive us, Lord, for trying to make you so small, for assuming that we always know when, who and how you will love, heal and transform. Help us just to rejoice and get out of your way! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 17 – John 9:16 – Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. [‘This man’ refers to Jesus. Some were firmly entrenched in their ideas and saw Jesus as a lawbreaker not from God. Others wondered how the power Jesus displayed could have any other source. The word ‘divided’ here is scisma and it means to pull apart by taking sides.]

            Dear God, We know too much from our own lives about taking sides and losing sight. We know how to divide and push people outside our circles. We know a lot less about how to live in, and rejoice in, your ever expanding circles of love and inclusion. Help us to relinquish our dualistic thinking, that I am right automatically means that if you differ, you are wrong. Help us to live in a bigger light in which we see our truth, cherish it, but do not claim to own it exclusively. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 18 – John 9:17-19 – So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” [‘Prophets’ were holy ones from God who were considered to be so close to God that they could speak and act for God. The authorities were not convinced. Human beings often discredit what seems to threaten us.]

            Prayer: Dear God, when we look at this scene it is almost comic. The healed man is courage in skin. He knows his truth and who has brought God’s power into his life. The leaders, utterly undone, tell him to call his mom! Help us not, in the name of rationality or education or privilege, to discredit the stories of amazing grace with which we are presented. Help us, rather, to examine our resistance and open to a little more light. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 19 – John 9:20-23 – His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” [The parents are so afraid of the authorities power of them that they can’t even celebrate their son’s healing! These parents are so afraid that they even throw their own son to the wolves. The word for ‘afraid’ here, comes from the root, phobos. Big fear. It means to run in fright. The word ‘agreed’ is for formal agreement, a verdict. This is courtroom language. ‘Confessed’ is also a formal legal term. To be put out of the synagogue meant that they would no longer have access to the sacrificial system and would therefore have no way to deal with their sin.]

            Prayer: Dear God, who would we be willing to sacrifice if we were that afraid? I shudder to think! Remove from us today any fear that allows us to sacrifice others to keep ourselves safe. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 20 – John 9:24-25 – So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” [This language is a traditional oath much like we would take in court. This man’s courage is truly remarkable. You can just feel the ongoing transformation happening. Contrast this with the man who was healed at Bethzatha. The healed man uses blepo for see. Remember, that is the word for whole being seeing, spiritual, physical and mental clarity.]

            Prayer: Dear God, all I can say is, I was blind and now I see! Each day, I pray you to clear my vision more and more! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 21 – John 9:26-27 – They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples?” [This whole exchange is poignant! We recognize the dynamic too well in ourselves! When confronted with an uncomfortable truth, humans tend to deny the facts. And yet, the transformed man becomes stronger and stronger by the moment.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we live in a time of uncomfortable truths. All around us we see people trying to argue away simple facts. Give us the courage of the healed man to stand on what we know to be true, to grow stronger in faith and transformation day by day by day. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 22 – John 9:28-29 – Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” [‘Reviled’ is a big word and used only here in scripture. It means to become abusive. It is a serious insult. When we can’t win an argument, people often resort to insults and personal attacks.]

            Prayer: Dear God, in these verses your people were so afraid and angry they had to stretch to even find words to describe their fury, to contain their abusive actions. Wow. We see too much of these in our world right now. Lashing out when change is called for, and humility and an openness to something new. We don’t want to be like that, Lord, but we know how. Help us to grow in love and leave behind our defensive meanspiritedness once and for all. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 23 – John 9:30 – The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.” [This man is not backing down at all! He is calling them on their own contradictions.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we know well our own contradictions and inconsistences, not just in theology but also in morality, in love itself. Help us to have the courage to be like the healed man even for ourselves. Help us to see when we need reform and to join in the dance! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 24 – John 9:31-33 “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [He is hoisting them on their own theological petards! It has become clear in the text who is really in need of healing.]

            Prayer: Dear God, soften our hearts and minds that we can receive your transforming grace even if it comes at a cost to our firmly entrenched egos. Help us to see the freeing truth be set free. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 25 – John 9:34 – They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. [They cannot tolerate the role reversal. In their anger and frustration, they blame the man for his condition. They can’t break his story or his character, so they banish him.]

            Prayer: Dear God, sometimes we want to drive away and reject the very ones who bring us the truth we need the most. Forgive us and help us see what we are doing and change where we need to do so. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 26 – John 9:35 – Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” [‘Believe’ means to place one’s hope and trust into. ‘The Son of Man’ is a complex term and means different things in different Gospels. In Mark, for example, it seems to just mean ‘The Human One’ and was Jesus’ kind of humble way of referring to himself. In John, the years since Mark wrote have elevated the term to be a nearly divine appellation.]

            Prayer: Dear God, help us to trust you. Forgive us when we forget and give us a new chance to try again. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 27 – John 9:36 – He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” [The healed man is eager to understand and ready to trust. He just needs to be taught.]

            Prayer: Dear God, today I ask you for an open eagerness to learn more of you and to live more joyfully in your light! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 28 – John 9:37-38 – Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him. [The word for ‘see’ used here is the word for bodily vision, to see with one’s own eyes.. The word for ‘worship’ means to acknowledge the presence of God with reverence. It has a powerfully joyful component. It is related to the word for a dog wagging its tale when the master arrives home.]

            Prayer: Dear God, today we are wiggled-tailed to greet you and to see the grace and opportunity that you will bring to us! Thank You! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 29 – John 9:39 – Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” [What Jesus is saying here is that he came in order to create a crisis in which people will choose the light and those who don’t will go on their way in darkness.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we are tired of crisis. And yet we have so much of it, all around us, even inside of us. Help us to make the choices that will lead to life and light, this and every day. Help us to look within the hardships to see the opportunities that they always contain. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 30 – John 9:40 – Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” [We are never ready for transformation if we don’t think we need it.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we know our need, if we are honest with ourselves. And you know it even when we are not. Give us the grace of clear self-knowledge and the courage to find, behind clever ego’s masks, true hearts that beat for you alone. Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

August 31 – John 9:41 – Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. [The ones who think they see everything and possess the truth as theirs alone are blind by choice. The ones who recognize their need are malleable, open, and therefore able to see. Here is the tough truth here: When our egos believe we have all the answers, we are closed to the truth.]

            Prayer: Dear God, we know we do not have all the answers. We also know that you are the answer, and that in you we have light, life, grace and even a measure of wisdom. Help us to hold those gifts in open hands, always ready to be reformed, always ready for more! Open our eyes! In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.