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.

December 13, 2005

I. Readings
Psalms 33, 85, 94
Zechariah 2:1-13
Revelation 3:14-22
Matthew 24:32-44

II. Selections
Psalm 94:6-7
They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
and they say, "The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive."

Zechariah 2:13
Be silent, all people, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Revelation 3:17
" ...For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ..."

Matthew 24:42
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

III. Meditation: We do not realize, do not know
There are those who say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." They do not realize that they are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. By what they do, or fail to do, they kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan, and they say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive." Am I among these guilty ones, complicit in the killing? Dare I ask you to rouse yourself from your holy dwelling and punish the guilty? Righteous God, keep us awake, for we do not know on what day you are coming. Make us silent before you, but raise our voices against the neglect and oppression of the poor.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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