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.

July 30, 2005

I. Readings
Psalms 63, 100, 122
2 Samuel 5:22-6:11
Acts 17:16-34
Mark 8:1-10

II. Selections
Ps. 100:1-2
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

2 Sam. 6:8-9
David was angry because the LORD had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. David was afraid of the LORD that day; he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come into my care?"

Acts 17:26-27
From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him-though indeed he is not far from each one of us.

Mark 8:1-2
In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.

III. Meditation: What kind of God shall we expect to find?
You are our Creator, who has made all nations to inhabit the earth, and allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live. You are not far from us, and you want us to search for you and find you. But what kind of God shall we expect to find? A God to be afraid of, who at the slightest provocation might burst forth upon us and destroy us? No, you are the One who invites us to make a joyful noise before you, who calls us to worship you with gladness and come into your presence with singing. You are a God of compassion, eager to feed us, as Jesus fed the multitude.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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