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 21, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 93, 117, 136
Leviticus 25:1-17
James 1:2-8, 16-18
Luke 12:13-21

II. Selections
Psalm 136:23
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever ...

Leviticus 25:17
You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

James 1:17
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Luke 12:15
And [ Jesus] said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

III. Meditation: Your steadfast love, our greed
You know how to give;
we do not know how to receive.

You are generous;
we must guard against our greed.

You remember us in our low estate;
we respond by cheating others.

You are steadfast love,
light that does not vary.

We shilly-shally in the flickering shadows,
in love with the abundance of our possessions.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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