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.

Bless Us, Small and Great--May 23, 2022

[From May 22, 2006 archive]

 

Bless us, gracious God;

bless us, small and great,

for we fear you.

 

Bless our eyes, that we may see,

and our ears, that we may hear you.

 

Bless our lives,

that they may be worthy of Jesus,

fully pleasing to him.

 

Bless our work, 

that it may bear fruit.

 

Bless us as we grow 

in our knowledge of you.

 

For we are your people,

your servants

whom you brought out of slavery;

and you are the Lord, our God.

 

Bless your servants, gracious God.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 97; 145; 124; 115

Lev. 25:35-55

Col. 1:9-14

Matt. 13:1-16

 

Selected Verses 

Ps. 115:13

[The LORD] will bless those who fear the LORD,

            both small and great.

 

Lev. 25:55

For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt.  I am the LORD your God.

 

Col. 1:10

…so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

 

Matt. 13:16

“…But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.  …”  [Jesus, to his disciples]


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

1 comment:

  1. Mea SententiaMay 24, 2022 at 7:26 PM

    This reminded me a bit of the Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10) which I came across last week in my Through the Bible reading. (I don't think it appears in the daily lectionary.)

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