I am an emeritus professor from Cornell University and was a Commissioned Lay Preacher in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For many years I have followed the Daily Lectionary as printed in the Mission Yearbook of my church. For each day of a two-year cycle, the lectionary lists four psalms and three other scriptural passages--usually one from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. My practice is to copy down a verse or two from one of the psalms and from each of the other three passages. After I have written out all four selections, I reflect upon them, rearrange their order, and incorporate them into a meditation. Sometimes I retain much of the original wording; sometimes all that remains of a selection is an idea that was stimulated when I read the original words. All selections are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For the Daily Lectionary, see the link below.

A Prayer to Silence Our Tumult--Aug. 27, 2014


Jesus called the works of the world evil;
for that he was hated by the world.
Job, out of the anguish of his spirit,
complained in the bitterness of his soul.

Even Peter complained about the food
that you had made clean for him.
God, you calm the roaring waves;
will you calm the tumult of the peoples?

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 65; 147:1-11; 125; 91
Job 6:1, 7:1-21
Acts 10:1-16
John 7:1-13

Selected Verses
Ps. 65:7
 You silence the roaring of the seas,
          the roaring of their waves,
          the tumult of the peoples. 

Job 7:11
"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.  …"  [Job]

Acts 10:15
The voice said to [Peter] again, a second time, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." 

John 7:6-7
Jesus said to [his brothers], "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil.  …"

No comments:

Post a Comment