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.

January 09, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 5, 29, 82
Genesis 2:4-25
Hebrews 1:1-14
John 1:1-18

II. Selections
Psalm 5:1
Give ear to my words, O LORD;
give heed to my sighing.

Genesis 2:4-25
...then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

Hebrews 1:1-2a
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son ...

John 1:1-14
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

III. Meditation: Sighs
Listen to our sighing, O God,
for you taught us how to breathe.
Likewise, teach us to listen to you,
to the many and various ways
in which you have spoken-
through the prophets and
through your Word
made flesh.
And help us
See his glory,
the glory as of a father's
only son, full of grace and truth.
(Having seen, our sighs may cease.)

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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