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 Fate of the Fig Tree--March 21, 2016

[From April 2, 2012 archive]

Jesus, let us not suffer the fate of the fig tree,
withered to its roots because it had grown
worthless to you when you needed it.

Let your mercy come to us, that we
may live and delight in your law.

We are in Holy Week; remind
us of the severity of your
sufferings for us, the
abundance of your
consolations
to us.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 119:73-80; 145; 121; 6
Lam. 1:1-2, 6-12
2 Cor. 1:1-7
Mark 11:12-25

Selected Verses
Ps. 119:77
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
          for your law is my delight.

Lam. 1:11b
Look, O LORD, and see how worthless I have become.

2 Cor. 1:5
For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.

Mark 11:20
In the morning as they passed by, [the disciples] saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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