Twenty-First Day

Daniel 3.13b-20

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13 [...] When they were brought before the ruler, 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you have refused to serve my gods or to worship the image of gold I set up? 15 Now, when you hear the royal orchestra play its music, if you are prepared to fall down and worship the image I have made, I'll give you another chance. But if you continue to refuse, I'll have you thrown into the blazing furnace immediately. No god will be able to rescue you from my hand."

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to Nebuchadnezzar, "Great Ruler, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If you throw us into the blazing furnace, 17 the God we serve is able to overcome the blaze and rescue us from your hand. 18 But even if God does not rescue us, we want you to know, Great Ruler, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you set up."

19 Nebuchadnezzar fumed in anger at what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had told him, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded several of the strongest soldiers in the army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them in the blazing furnace.

"Power"

by J. Ruth Gendler (b. 1955)

from The Book of Qualities (HarperCollins, 1984)

Power made me a coat. For a long time I kept it in the back of my closet. I didn't like to wear it much, but I always took good care of it. When I first started wearing it again, it smelled like mothballs. As I wore it more, it started fitting better, and stopped smelling like mothballs.

I was afraid if I wore the coat too much someone would want to take it or else I would accidentally leave it in the dojo dressing room. But it has my name on the label now, and it doesn't really fit anyone else. When people ask me where I found such a becoming garment, I tell them about the tailor, Power, who knows how to make coats that you grow into. First, you must find the courage to approach him and ask him to make your coat. Then, you must find the patience inside yourself to wear the coat until it fits.

Today’s Art Practice

What You’ll Need

From Your Home:

• A pen, pencil or other writing instrument.

From Your Envelope:

• Sheet of Lined Paper.

Directions: A Haiku is a kind of poem where the only rule is you have to use the correct number of syllables per line.

The first like has five syllables.

The second line has seven syllables.

the third line has five syllables.

For example:

5 Over the wintry

7 Forest, winds howl in rage

5 with no leaves to blow.

Using a sheet of the lined paper from your envelope, write your own haiku on the theme of Power.

If you like, this playlist can help you keep track of time. Once it stops playing, 20 minutes will be over.

Let’s Pray…

A Prayer for Keeping Faith

by Miriam Therese Winter

Help us,

O keeper of Faith,

to keep the faith entrusted to us,

faith in a world worth saving,

faith in a dream worth sharing,

faith in a heritage worth keeping

even as we reinvigorate it

to have meaning for us now.

Help us keep faith in You,

and help us not lose faith in ourselves,

for faith is the substance of our hope,

and hope, the assurance of love.

Praise to You, O Faithful One,

now and forever.

Amen.