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.

March 16, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 27, 102, 126
Genesis 42:29-38
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Mark 4:21-34

II. Selections
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD.

Genesis 42:36
And their father Jacob said to them, "I am the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!"

1 Corinthians 6:12
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything.

Mark 4:31
"[ The kingdom of God] is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the seeds on earth ..."

III. Meditation: Wait
Pessimism is lawful, sometimes even justified;
but we must not allow it to dominate us.

Old Jacob was full of gloom and self-pity
over the loss, or potential loss, of three sons.

He had not learned to wait for you.
He was weak; his heart lacked courage.

Your kingdom grows from the smallest of seeds;
teach us to be strong, with courage to wait.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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