Fifteenth Day

Jeremiah 36.14b-23

14 When Baruch ben-Neriah appeared before them with the scroll, 15 they said, "Take a seat and read it to us," which he did.

16 When they heard what was written down, they turned to one another in alarm, and said to Baruch, "We certainly must report this to the ruler."

17 Then they asked Baruch how he had come to write all this. 18 He explained, "Jeremiah dictated every word of it to me, and I wrote it down with ink on a scroll." 19 And the officials said to him, "You and Jeremiah must go into hiding so that no one can know where you are."

20 Once they had deposited the scroll in the room of Elishama, the chief adviser, they went to the court and reported the whole affair to the ruler. 21 Then the ruler sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll from the room of Elishama the chief adviser, who read it aloud in the presence of the ruler and the officials attending him. 22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the ruler was sitting in his winter apartments before a brazier with a fire in it. 23 Each time Jehudi read three or four columns of the scroll, the ruler cut them off with a pen knife and threw them into the brazier. He continued to do this until the entire scroll was burned up in the brazier.

“Visits to St. Elizabeth”

by Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)

found in The Mind Has Cliffs of Fall: Poems at the Extremes of Feeling (WW Norton, 2019)

Visits to St. Elizabeths

1950

This is the house of Bedlam.

This is the man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is the time

of the tragic man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is a wristwatch

telling the time

of the talkative man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is a sailor

wearing the watch

that tells the time

of the honored man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is the roadstead all of board

reached by the sailor

wearing the watch

that tells the time

of the old, brave man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

These are the years and the walls of the ward,

the winds and clouds of the sea of board

sailed by the sailor

wearing the watch

that tells the time

of the cranky man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is a Jew in a newspaper hat

that dances weeping down the ward

over the creaking sea of board

beyond the sailor

winding his watch

that tells the time

of the cruel man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is a world of books gone flat.

This is a Jew in a newspaper hat

that dances weeping down the ward

over the creaking sea of board

of the batty sailor

that winds his watch

that tells the time

of the busy man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is a boy that pats the floor

to see if the world is there, is flat,

for the widowed Jew in the newspaper hat

that dances weeping down the ward

waltzing the length of a weaving board

by the silent sailor

that hears his watch

that ticks the time

of the tedious man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

These are the years and the walls and the door

that shut on a boy that pats the floor

to feel if the world is there and flat.

This is a Jew in a newspaper hat

that dances joyfully down the ward

into the parting seas of board

past the staring sailor

that shakes his watch

that tells the time

of the poet, the man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

This is the soldier home from war.

These are the years and the walls and the door

that shut on a boy that pats the floor

to see if the world is round or flat.

This is a Jew in a newspaper hat

that dances carefully down the ward,

walking the plank of a coffin board

with the crazy sailor

that shows his watch

that tells the time

of the wretched man

that lies in the house of Bedlam.

Today’s Art Practice

What You’ll Need

From Your Home:

• Pen, pencil, or other writing instrument (you could also do this activity using a voice recorder).

From Your Envelope:

• Prompt page.

• Sheet of lined paper.

Directions: Start by finding the prompt page from your envelope. It looks something like this (likely with different prompts).

The Goal is to get a story onto the page. The three prompts will help guide your story.

The two top (gold) prompts are your character cards, the bottom (white) prompt is a source of conflict between the two characters.

Do not think. Do not edit yourself. Say yes to everything. Write quickly. Write so fast that your hand hurts. Let your imagination go wherever it wants to go, and let yourself just go along for the ride. Nobody writes a perfect first draft. So don't get hung up trying to do that.

There are two essential rules in this activity: your main character must change from beginning to end, and your main character cannot die. You should also include the material from your prompts in a substantial way. These simple parameters will keep you grounded, even as you turn off the editor in your head.

Turning off the editor in your head can take some practice. It can sometimes be scary to turn off the editor. Just give it 20 minutes today and then come back.

*Save this story, we will come back to it later.

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

Let’s Pray…

Prayers of the People

by Rick Morley

O God, the days are surely coming when all your promises will be fulfilled to your faithful children. We pray for the church, that we might fulfill our promises to you, and be forgiven for all our failures.

In your time, O Lord, a righteous branch sprang up and you brought justice and righteousness in every land. We pray for our nation, and all nations, that your peace would be manifest in every corner of the earth.

In your Kingdom, O Lord, you bring your people safety and comfort. We pray for the sick, the suffering, and those in distress of any kind; that you would heal all injuries, comfort all grief, and settle all wrongs.

Your great works of redemption, O God, span the ages. We pray for those who rejoice this week that they might be filled with joy and gladness.

In the fullness of time, O God, you sent your son, to be born of our sister Mary. And his name was Emmanuel: God With Us. We thank you for your Presence with us, and we pray that you might be always present with those whom we love but see no longer.

Come among us O God, and hear our prayers; so that when your Son Jesus comes among riding on a cloud and with great power and might, we might come to adore him. Amen.