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 25, 2005

I. Readings
Psalms 81, 116, 143
1 Kings 3:16-28
Acts 27:27-44
Mark 14:12-26

II. Selections
Ps. 81:12
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.

1 Kings 3:22
But the other woman said, "No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours." The first said, "No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine." So they argued before the king.

Acts 27:42-43a
The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan.

Mark 14:12
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

III. Meditation: Following our own counsels
The disciples asked Jesus where to make preparations for the Passover meal. The soldiers yielded to the orders of the centurion, and so did not kill Paul and the other prisoners. Even the two prostitutes brought before King Solomon their dispute over whose son was alive. Why must we follow the counsels of our stubborn hearts instead of seeking your will?

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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