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 Light Fails; Darkness Comes Over the Land--July 10, 2017

The light fails; darkness comes over the land,
for we assail the weak and vulnerable—
all whom we consider despised and worthless—
as we promote the cause of the wealthy.
And even within our own ranks, we are suspicious
of one another.  Society is being torn in two.
Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9
1 Sam. 15:1-3, 7-23
Acts 9:19b-31
Luke 23:44-56a

Selected Verses
Ps. 62:3
How long will you assail a person,
          will you batter your victim, all of you,
          as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 

1 Sam. 15:9
Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.

Acts 9:26
When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 

Luke 23:44-45
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

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