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.

April 01, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 31, 43, 143
Exodus 2:23-3:15
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Mark 9:14-29

II. Selections
Psalm 143:3
For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Exodus 2:23
After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Mark 9:21
Jesus asked the father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood."

III. Meditation: Crushed to the ground
So many children suffer, O God.
Do you know how long-
how long the enemy has pursued them,
crushing their life to the ground,
confining them to darkness
like those long dead?

They groan under their slavery;
they cry out for help;
surely their cry rises up to you.
Give them hope,
and with hope, faith in your goodness,
and with faith, evidence of your abiding love.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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