This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.
Devotion for Thursday, January 2, 2025
The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard
The Ninth Day of Christmas
An Invitation to Prayer
They looked up and saw a star
shining in the East beyond them far.
–Let us walk with the Magi by its light.
Psalm 62/63:7–12
I have remembered you on my bed,
in the early morning I contemplate you.
For you are my helper,
and in the shelter of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you
for your right hand upholds me.
For no good reason they sought my life.
They shall be driven into the deepest pits of the earth.
They shall fall victim to the power of the sword,
and be the prey of foxes.
But the king shall rejoice in God,
and all who swear by him shall be commended,
because the mouth of those speaking unjustly was silenced.
A reading adapted from Basil’s, Homily on Proverbs 1:1–5
There are those who think of proverbs as clichés. But, for our purposes they are useful maxims expressed with a healthy obscurity so that–while useful in itself–it also veils deeper meaning. That is why the Lord said, “I have spoken these things to you in proverbs, but a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs but plainly” John 16:25 A proverb is not really that obvious, nor easily exhausted. It discloses its true meaning in an oblique manner to those with the skill to plumb it. And so the Proverbs of Solomon–his short exhortations–are useful for every way of life.
A Prayer
O Holy Lord Jesus, you have told us to search the Scriptures, your word. Grant that we may fathom the deeper meaning–not only of Holy Writ–but the meaning of the events in your own life in this world. As we have remembered you birth in the flesh and your circumcision, and as we prepare to remember the worship of the Magi, and then your baptism by John, we will, not only recall an historical fact, and the depth of your love for us, but also the meaning of our lives in union with you.
Amen!