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.

Teeth Like Spears and Arrows--Oct. 17, 2016


There are many teeth like spears and arrows,
tongues as sharp as swords, calling
for fire down from heaven.
We must not strip the robe
from the peaceful.
Please, God, won't you send
four angels to stand and hold back
the violence?

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Micah 2:1-13
Rev. 7:1-8
Luke 9:51-62
           
Selected Verses
Ps. 57:4
 I lie down among lions
          that greedily devour human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
          their tongues sharp swords.

Micah 2:8
But you rise up against my people as an enemy;
     you strip the robe from the peaceful,
from those who pass by trustingly
     with no thought of war. 

Rev. 7:1
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 

Luke 9:53-54
…but [the Samaritans] did not receive [Jesus], because his face was set toward Jerusalem.  When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

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