Lectionary Devotions by Bishop Hawkins

There is this flotilla of little ships or boats out on the sea, or lake, of Galilee. They are making the crossing with this new Rabbi, Jesus, who had been preaching the other day on the kingdom of God. In the middle of the night, a sudden storm whips up…

We are called to overcome evil with good, to bless those who curse us, to turn the other cheek, to love and feed and care for our enemies… Paul is saying, as much as it depends on you, at the least in your heart, be at peace with everyone, even those who will not be at peace with you.

The Bible witnesses to this responsibility within humanity for its own sadness. And it assigns this responsibility generally. It is not the stars under which we were born, but we ourselves, who are responsible for the mess we and the world are in.

Three simple words are before us today: Duty, Sacrifice, and Humility… it is these three things that we find in the Gospel portrait of our Lord’s youth… Jesus shows his sense of duty to his heavenly Father, while still giving due obedience to his earthly parents.

Our collect for today, the special prayer we use with our readings, would have us think about the journey of the wise men as the journey of our life… In our day and culture, pilgrimage is not primarily a religious thing, but we still make them.

The Shepherds head out in the middle of the night to look for the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, with only this single and odd clue: “ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”