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.

God, By the Work of Your Hand--Feb. 20, 2019

[From Feb. 15, 2011 archive]

By the work of your hand
you molded us from clay,
put gladness into our heart.

You chose a cornerstone,
and it was amazing in our eyes
(though the builders rejected it).

On the cornerstone you
established your church,
pillar and bulwark of truth.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Isa. 63:15-64:9
1 Tim. 3:1-16
Mark 11:27-12:12

Selected Verses
Ps. 4:7
You have put gladness in my heart
            more than when their grain and wine abound.

Isa. 64:8
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father;
            we are the clay, and you are our potter;
            we are all the work of your hand.

1 Tim. 3:15
…if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

Mark 12:10
“…Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
            has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
            and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
[Jesus in the temple, to the chief priests, scribes, and elders]

No comments:

Post a Comment