Friday after Ash Wednesday
There was a lot of wisdom literature floating around in Jesus’ time, and I wonder if He knew the apocryphal verse, “A faithful friend is an elixir of life, found only by those who fear the Lord. The person who fears the Lord keeps his friendships in repair, for he treats his neighbor as himself” (Sirach 6:16–17). What a wonderful word, “elixir!”It seems to me that there is tremendous wisdom in friends and friendship; and thank the Lord Jesus for befriending and loving us.
One sage in my life was my mother. She told me a proverb when I was young. “Jess, if you have just one good friend that stays with you your whole life, count yourself very fortunate.” She said this shortly after her friend, Aleen, left from a visit. Even as a young child, I could see the love between them. They never gave up on each other.
I had an assigned friend in Army basic training. We were “battle buddies,” and our short time of friendship gave me some wisdom on friendship. An image that has stayed with me is our time of “fire watch” together. We sat on a stump in the middle of our camp, leaning back-to-back. Our mission was to stay awake through half the night to watch for fire—enemy or natural. The way we sat, we had a combined 360 view of the camp; nothing could happen to us or our comrades without our notice.
Indeed, a friend is safety, and an elixir to the befriended. A friend is also, along with other friends, a blessing to the community. Think how amazing it is that Jesus is our friend. He not only laid down His life for us, but He persists in having our back, and using us to bless our communities!
Prayer: O Lord Jesus, we thank You that You count us as friends and that You love us despite our failings. Teach and guide us through your Spirit to love others with the same love You have for us. Empower us to be good and loving friends to others. Make us elixirs of life so that our friends may also learn and live Your commandment of love. Amen.
Devotion written by The Rev. Dr. Jesse J. Abbott
Morning Psalms
Evening Psalms
“St. Matthias, Apostle”
This daily prayer and Bible reading guide, Devoted to Prayer (based on Acts 2:42), was conceived and prepared by the Rev. Andrew S. Ames Fuller, director of communications for the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). After several challenging years in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been provided with a unique opportunity to revitalize the ancient practice of daily prayer and Scripture reading in our homes. While the Reading the Word of God three-year lectionary provided a much-needed and refreshing calendar for our congregations to engage in Scripture reading, this calendar includes a missing component of daily devotion: prayer. This guide is to provide the average layperson and pastor with the simple tools for sorting through the busyness of their lives and reclaiming an act of daily discipleship with their Lord. The daily readings follow the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year daily lectionary, which reflect the church calendar closely. The commemorations are adapted from Philip H. Pfatteicher’s New Book of Festivals and Commemorations, a proposed common calendar of the saints that builds from the Lutheran Book of Worship, but includes saints from many of those churches in ecumenical conversation with the NALC. The introductory portion is adapted from Christ Church (Plano)’s Pray Daily. Our hope is that this calendar and guide will provide new life for congregations learning and re-learning to pray in the midst of a difficult and changing world.