This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Wednesday, February 22, 2023
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
An Invitation to Prayer
An arrogant person takes courage from his pride,
and sin is the lamp that guides the impious.
—The one who make a profit from lies
follows his folly into the jaws of death. (Prov. 21:4-6)
Let us seek the Way, the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6)
Psalm 74(75)
We will acknowledge you, O God,
we will acknowledge and invoke your name.
I will proclaim all your wonders.
(God replies)
When the time is right, I will judge with equity.
The earth tottered, and all its inhabitants,
but I strengthened its supports.
I said to the offenders, do no evil;
and to sinners, do not rebel—
do not charge on wildly,
do not speak unjustly about your God
because God is judge
from the east to the west,
from the mountains to the desert,
humbling one and rising another.
(The narrator continues)
There is a cup in the hand of the Lord
full of strong undiluted wine,
and he pours it for this one and that.
Not all of its dregs have been emptied—
those are for all the sinners of the world to drink!
But I will rejoice forever,
and sing to the God of Jacob.
And I will smash all the horns of sinners
while all the horns of the just will be raised.
From St. Basil’s Homily on Humility
Again, (some of) the Jews devised a plot against the Lord,
saying, “If we let him go on like this everyone is going to believe
in him and the Romans will come and take away our place and our
nation.” (Jn. 11:48) When they advanced from simply plotting to
actually killing Christ on the belief this would preserve their nation
and their place, they lost both by putting their plan into action.
They were exiled from their place and were deprived of the
worship of God. To sum it up, anyone can see from countless
examples that whatever human “wisdom” achieves is flawed,
because it is low grade and pales in comparison rather than being
grand and great.
A Prayer
Guide me, O most Holy Spirit, to discern what opportunities
are truly profitable for me as a servant of God and a member of
this Order, and reveal to me the hidden pitfalls that come disguised
as expedient compromises. May I always march on the way which
is Jesus, guided by the lamp of his truth, that I might not only keep
to life, but find an even more happy and joyful one in the Kingdom
of God. Amen.