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.

When in Bitterness We Speak--Aug. 30, 2014


O Lord Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world.
We lift our hands to you; we call on your name.
When we speak in the bitterness of our soul
and forget the gift God gave us in you,
restore us to your light, lest we walk
in darkness and hinder God's will.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 122; 149; 100; 63
Job 9:1, 10:1-9, 16-22
Acts 11:1-18
John 8:12-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 63:4
So I will bless you as long as I live;
          I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

Job 10:1
"I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.  …"

Acts 11:17
"…If then God gave [Cornelius and his household] the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"  [Peter to the apostles and believers in Judea]

John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." 
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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