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.

August 10, 2005

I. Readings
Psalms 1, 33, 89:1-18
2 Samuel 14:21-33
Acts 21:15-26
Mark 10:17-31

II. Selections
Psalms 1:6
...for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

2 Samuel 14:31-32a
Then Joab rose and went to Absalom at his house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?" Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent word to you ..."

Acts 21:18-20a
The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard it, they praised God.

Mark 10:17
As [ Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

III. Meditation: Must I set the barley on fire?
If you watch over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Absalom set Joab's barley field on fire to command his attention, but that would not work with you. Neither can I impress you as Paul impressed James and the elders, when Paul recited all the things that you did through his ministry. I have no righteousness except in you, so I must accept your invitation and follow.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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