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.

November 07, 2005

I. Readings
Psalms 97, 112, 135
Nehemiah 9:1-25
Revelation 18:1-8
Matthew 15:1-20

II. Selections
Psalms 135:3
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.

Nehemiah 9:17b
But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them.

Revelation 18:7-8
" ...As [ Babylon] glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so give her a like measure of torment and grief. Since in her heart she says, 'I rule as a queen; I am no widow, and I will never see grief,' therefore her plagues will come in a single day-pestilence and mourning and famine-and she will be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her."

Matthew 15:1-3
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat." He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ..."

III. Meditation: Who most needs your grace and mercy?
We praise you, for you are good; we sing to your name, for you are gracious. You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; you did not forsake your people even though they strayed far from you. You are a God of might and a God of judgment. If in her heart the notorious sinner "Babylon" says, "I rule as a queen; I am no widow, and I will never see grief," she separates herself from you and suffers the consequences. Still it is not only the obvious sin that separates us from you. We who are righteous in our own eyes justify ourselves because we follow pious tradition, blind to the essence of what it means to follow you. Who stands in greater need of your grace and mercy?

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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