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.

February 23, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 81, 116, 143
Proverbs 7:1-27
1 John 5:13-21
John 11:55-12:8

II. Selections
Psalm 143:5
I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.

Proverbs 7:4
Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call insight your intimate friend ..."

1 John 5:14
And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

John 11:56
They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?"

III. Meditation: Wisdom and insight
We make our assumptions about what you will do
or what you will not do.
We are usually wrong.

Remind us of the days of old,
and as we think about all your deeds,
teach us to meditate on the works of your hands.

Give us wisdom and insight to know
that if we ask anything according to your will,
you will hear us.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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