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.

Meditation or Good Works--July 4, 2016


I need time to sit in silence before you,
O God, but I also need to help lift
the heavy burdens others bear.  

You search the heart and know
what is the mind of the Spirit--
pray help me find the balance.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9
Num. 32:1-6, 16-27
Rom. 8:26-30
Matt. 23:1-12
           
Selected Verses
Ps. 62:5
 For God alone my soul waits in silence,
          for my hope is from him. 

Num. 32:6
But Moses said to the Gadites and to the Reubenites, "Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?  …"

Rom. 8:27
And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Matt. 23:4
"… [The scribes and the Pharisees] tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.  …"  [Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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