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.

Rooted and Grounded in Love--Jan. 14, 2017


When our hearts are hardened,
Lord, and we do not understand,
how greatly that must grieve you.

Come, Christ, dwell in our hearts
through faith, that we may be
rooted and grounded in love,
and with our whole hearts
sing your praise.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 104; 149; 138; 98
Isa. 42:18-43:13
Eph. 3:14-21
Mark 2:23-3:6

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:1
I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
          before the gods I sing your praise…

Isa. 42:25
So [the LORD] poured upon [Israel] the heat of his anger
          and the fury of war;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
          it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Eph. 3:17
…and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

Mark 3:5
[Jesus] looked around at [his critics] with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” 

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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