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.

May 08, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 97, 115, 124
Exodus 32:1-20
Colossians 3:18-4:18
Matthew 5:1-10

II. Selections
Psalm 124:6
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.

Exodus 32:18
But [ Moses] said,
"It is not the sound made by victors,
or the sound made by losers;
it is the sound of revelers that I hear."

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert to it with thanksgiving.

Matthew 5:5
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

III. Meditation: Meek in the teeth of our enemies
Winning is good,
losing is bad, we say,
and revelry is the way
we celebrate our wins ...
or forget our losses.

Escape from being prey
to the teeth of our enemies
is our reason to praise you-
or so we suppose, though it is clear
that Jesus preached a different way.

If we devote ourselves to prayer,
alert in our praying,
giving thanks,
we may come to realize
the blessings of his meekness.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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