The Forward Day by Day Archives
We've published links to the last few weeks' Forward Day by Day Meditations below. You can search for past meditations (from June 2012 and later), and filter them by keyword if you wish, using the search form.
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SATURDAY, September 19 Theodore of Tarsus, Ember Day
I try to keep myself very busy running from work to home, to the gym, to a friend’s, to church, to the store. I fill my life with activities and people I care for. This is the life I live alongside all of the other striving, hardworking people of this country. Our society doesn’t encourage a lot....FRIDAY, September 18 Edward B. Pusey, Ember Day
For a moment with the dying sun before me and the warm rock beneath me, I feel peace settling into my bones. I breathe with the waves and am carried by gulls into even deeper peace. I allow myself to be taken by it, to dwell in it, and to begin to carry that peace within. I drive away with peace and....THURSDAY, September 17 Hildegard of Bingen
From the Archives: May 29, 1953How should people feel toward their clergy and how should they treat them? Let me offer my own answer as a minister.
We want your prayers. Our task is spiritual, and it puts a heavy drain on our so....
WEDNESDAY, September 16 Ninian, Ember Day
When I was a young adult minister, I had the privilege of listening to a lot of people discerning their vocations. Some were called to holy orders; far more were confirmed in the ministry of the laity. Some were called to strive for equality and environmental stewardship, to teach, build, encourage,....TUESDAY, September 15 Catherine of Genoa
These words spoken by the Pharisees after seeing Jesus ride triumphant into Jerusalem for the Passover strike me as both folly and cause for celebration. For one, God’s movement in the world is too powerful for evil to overcome. God moves in the world, and the world rejoices—it can look like the....MONDAY, September 14 Holy Cross
Almost every supervillain storyline follows a similar trope: dispossessed individuals gain some power but subsequently isolate and overextend themselves. Meanwhile, much more powerful superheroes acknowledge their need for relationship and commitment to others and prevail over the supervillain. I wo....SUNDAY, September 13 15 Pentecost
Like many Christians, I seek to serve; I look for opportunities to help. Unwittingly I appoint myself judge over who needs help and what help they need. I see the homeless on the street and decide who to give to and in what amount.Congregations and community groups design....
SATURDAY, September 12 John Henry Hobart
As a consultant, I am often invited into spaces where I may know less than those I am advising. I do not understand chemistry as well as an engineer, instruction as well as a curriculum designer. Yet I am invited to counsel and help to clarify paths around and through huge problems and obstacles.John is the gospel of the divine Jesus, who foretells his own death and who is the Word incarnate. In the story of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus decides not to go directly when he hears his friend is ill. He is infinitely confident in his divinity and seems to know the miracle he will perform. And y....THURSDAY, September 10 Alexander Crummell
From the Archives: October 10, 1952The psalmist appears to be celebrating the two things that have most impressed their mind and spirit: the glory of God manifested in the heavens and the righteousness of God as revealed in the Law. The firs....
WEDNESDAY, September 9
Constance and Her CompanionsThere is always more to be done: I sometimes wish I could extend the day infinitely, just to catch up so that tomorrow might arrive with a blank slate. The blue light of our screens and the caffeine in our coffees incrementally extend day into night, often at the cost of our physical and mental heal....TUESDAY, September 8
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin MaryPaul and Barnabas have just healed a man, lame from birth, in the name of Jesus. The people are amazed and attribute the act to the men before them, not the God they serve. We only see what we know how to look for.By putting Edison’s face on the light bulb....
In large-group discussions, I often experience a great deal of anxiety before I contribute. A thought will hit me, and I quickly bat it away. I try to listen even harder to what others are saying, but the incessant buzzing of that thought grows in intensity until I decide I will speak. My palms swea....SUNDAY, September 6 14 Pentecost
Many of my relationships are challenged by the scarcity of time. We want to give our best and most fully present selves to each other, but we fall short of our own hopes, intentions, and expectations.Paul encourages us to pay our debts so that we owe no one....
SATURDAY, September 5 Katharina Zell
God calls us into many kinds of relationships: with God’s heart, with God’s creation, with the people around us, and with ourselves. These relationships can give life and joy—and they can take it away. The thief can sound like the shepherd, especially in a world where we are so hungry for conn....FRIDAY, September 4 Paul Jones
I have become unsurprised by bad news: another political mess, another milestone of ecological unraveling, another conflict on the global stage. It is often the good news that can be hard for me to accept and digest, especially when it comes from somewhere unexpected.....From the Archives: August 23, 1952There were thousands of martyrs in the early days, people who were not ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus with their mouths. They confessed, even though it meant they were to be stoned, beheaded, crucified, t....
WEDNESDAY, September 2
The Martyrs of New GuineaIn my work, I sometimes feel very important. The leaders of the organizations I counsel make space in their calendars for our meetings. They review the materials I send in advance of our meetings and express gratitude as we tie up loose ends.These meetings a....
TUESDAY, September 1 David Pendleton Oakerhater
How often have I sought to speak for God? Nearly always this inclination comes from a place of compassion, offering the hope I find in scripture as salve to a hurting heart or as a candle guiding another away from a road I perceive to lead to pain and heartache. I have learned—slowly—that silenc....I have been reading Forward Day by Day since I was in high school, as has my mother. Reflections from these pages have shown up for me in big ways on crucial days. I often marvel at the synchronicity this publication supports in my life and in so many others. The words of authors who wrote before me....
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