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 Bad News Comes--July 30, 2015


Bad news comes, and our hearts are appalled;
our courage fails; our spirits faint within us;
we are dismayed.

Many bad things come from within our hearts--
the list is long, ugly--but surely one of them
is unwarranted dismay.

Each morning remind me of your steadfast love,
and teach me the way I should go, for in you
I put my trust, and to you I lift up my heart
and my soul.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 143; 147:12-20; 81; 116
2 Sam. 4:1-12
Acts 16:25-40
Mark 7:1-23

Selected Verses
Ps. 143:4, 8a
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
          my heart within me is appalled.  …

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
          for in you I put my trust. 

2 Sam. 4:1-12
When Saul’s son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 

Acts 16:27-28
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”                                                                                                                                                            
Mark 7:20-22
And [Jesus] said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles.  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)