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.

Lord of the Dead, Lord of the Living--July 19, 2016


Lord Jesus Christ,
you had to endure the scorn
of the wealthy who lived at ease
and all the contempt of the proud.
When the mob came to arrest you,
there was no army to protect you,
or to allay your fear and dismay.
But you died and lived again,
and so you are Lord of both
the dead and the living.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 123, 146, 30, 86
Josh. 8:1-22
Rom. 14:1-12
Matt. 26:47-56
           
Selected Verses
Ps. 123:4
Our soul has had more than its fill
          of the scorn of those who are at ease,
          of the contempt of the proud.

Josh. 8:1
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai.  …"

Rom. 14:9
For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Matt. 26:50
Jesus said to [Judas], "Friend, do what you are here to do."  Then [the crowd with swords and clubs] came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 

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