Hope: That Thing With Feathers
- davidwperk
- Feb 5
- 7 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Wednesday of the fourth week after Epiphany
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Old Testament reading:
54:1Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD. 2Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns. 4Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
You will find the full text of this Isaiah reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 946)
AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96
Isa. 54:1-10(11-17); Gal. 4:21-31; Mark 8:11-26
Today we celebrate the Feast of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. (See below.)
David's Reflections
In one of her poems, Emily Dickinson wrote:
Hope is that thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
Sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all
And sweetest in the gale is heard. *
This prophetic oracle in Isaiah 54 resounds with hope. The prophet was preaching to exiles returning to a devastated Jerusalem and Judea from exile in Babylon. Their beloved city lay in ruins; they constituted a fraction of the former population. The economy had been gutted. The Temple was a pile of rubble; the center of gravity of their religious experience had been lost. What could they do? Where could they begin? How could they restore their beloved city and country? The prophet had a vision of a renewed Jerusalem and Judah so profoundly vivid that he preached as if it already had come to be. Hope IS that thing with feathers that sings the tune sweetest in the gale. Note that in verse 1 the prophet invites the people to break forth into singing.
One image he used was that of a family that had outgrown its desert Bedouin tent and needed to lengthen the tent lines and strengthen the stakes in order to enlarge the tent’s size. How could this be possible with such a small population? His answer--because Jerusalem and Judea were going to draw people from all over the earth into her environs. To hear someone preach such hope to a city with broken down walls, burned gates, no social structure and few inhabitants must have seemed insane to the listeners.
Can we find a measure of that hope in the place of our devastation, whether it be a broken relationship, a ruined business, a failed personal dream, a terminal illness, or a life seemingly ruined by the consequences of my or another’s own behavior? Each day brings an op/ed in some news publication about culture wars and political polarization. How will all that settle out and when? Local congregations and dioceses feel the financial and social devastation forced on us by the pandemic. What will the future bring? Can we survive until some new version of normalcy emerges? Can hope be that thing with feathers that sing sweetest in our storm?
The Spirit of Christ sitting in our souls like that bird in Dickinson's poem is ready to burst forth with the song of hope. Can we begin living as though the devastation is past before it is past? Can we enlarge our tent before the children are born, even before the pregnancies happen? What steps could we take to begin living in hope? What learnings can we bring forward from our current chaos that will renew and enlarge our vision and practice? What would you do next if you had hope? Would you dare go ahead and do that?
Hope is that thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
Sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all
And sweetest in the gale is heard. *
Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, ed. Thomas H. Johnson (Boston: Little, Brown, 1960), p. 116.
Collect of the Day, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 216)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Roger Williams (died 18 Apr 1683 CE) and Anne Hutchinson (died 20 Aug 1643 CE) prophetic witnesses.
Collect of Feast of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson
O God our light and salvation, who makes all free to worship you: May we ever strive to be faithful to your call, following the example of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, that we may faithfully set our hands to the Gospel plow, confident in the truth proclaimed by your Son Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Presence of Christ
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)
For Young Persons
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 829)
A Prayer for Light
O Lord God Almighty, as you have taught us to call the evening, the morning, and the noonday one day; and have made the sun to know its going down: Dispel the darkness of our hearts, that by your brightness we may know you to be the true God and eternal light, living and reigning for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)
Daily Office Old Testament Reading, Isaiah 54:1-17
54:1Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD. 2Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. 3For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns. 4Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. 5For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the LORD has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a man's youth when she is cast off, says your God. 7For a brief
moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. 8In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting
love I will have compassion on you, says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. 10For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
11 O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I am about to set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of jewels, and all your wall of precious stones. 13All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the prosperity of your children. 14In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. 16See it is I who have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and produces a weapon fit for its purpose; I have also created the ravager to destroy. 17No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, says the LORD.
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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