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.

The Yoke Was Heavy on Jesus--Sept. 5, 2015


The yoke was heavy on Jesus, O God,
so very heavy, so much to endure.
To you he cried out that cry of  
forsakenness; then he died,
surrounded by your love,
even as the mountains
surround Jerusalem.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 63; 149; 125; 90
1 Kings 12:1-20
James 5:7-20
Mark 15:33-39

Selected Verses
Ps. 125:2
 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
          so the LORD surrounds his people,
          from this time on and forevermore. 

1 Kings 12:13-14
The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 

James 5:11a
Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance.

Mark 15:34
At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

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