Daily Devotion

This Daily Devotion is to help our members and others reflect on the understanding of Christian service to our Lord.

Devotion for Sunday, January 5, 2025

The Rt. Rev. Archimandrite, Msgr. George Appleyard

Twelfth Night

An Invitation to Prayer

This is what the Lord, your redeemer, the God of Israel, says.
Consecrate the one who is unconcerned for his own life,
the reject of the nations enslaved to rulers.
Kings shall see him, and rulers shall stand up
and worship him for the Lord’s sake. ^{Isaiah 49:7}
-Come, let us worship him!

Psalm 65/66:1-7

Shout for joy to God, all the earth,
sing praises to his name,
glorify him with praise.
Say to God, How awesome are your works!
For the greatness of your power your enemies will fawn on you.
Let all the world bow down before you and sing to you;
let them sing to your name.

Come and see the works of God,
more astounding than any of the human race.
He turns the sea into dry land,
so that they cross the river on foot.
They rejoice in him who rules for the ages in his power.
His eyes are upon the nations.
Let those who agitate not think too much of themselves.

A reading adapted from Basil’s, Homily on Proverbs 1;1-5

Wisdom was personified for us in order to communicate a clear knowledge of it. As it is said^Prov.8:22, “The Lord begot me, the first-born of his ways.” This is said about wisdom manifest in the world, which makes an announcement through visible things, proclaiming that the world was made by God, and that the great wisdom seen in created things is not spontaneous. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the skies publish the work of his hands. . . Not a sound, not a word, no voice is heard, yet their message goes out to the ends of the world^{Ps 18:4}. There are certain words of primal wisdom, established before all else along with the created order at the beginning of the world. It is this wisdom that silently announces its Creator and Lord so that, through it, you may go back to the notion of wisdom by itself.

A Prayer

Holy Spirit of Wisdom,
groaning over the chaos at the beginning of the world,
and poured out on believers in the glorification of the Christ,
suffuse me with your precious gifts of knowledge and discernment
that I may be a good servant of God in his Christ,
and a productive member of our Order.
Amen!