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.

August 17, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 16, 62, 97
Judges 14:1-19
Acts 6:15-7:16
John 4:27-42

II. Selections
Psalm 97:12
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name.

Judges 14:14
[ Samson] said to [ the men of the town},
"Out of the eater came something to eat,
Out of the strong came something sweet."
But for three days they could not explain the riddle.

Acts 7:9
" ...The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him ..."

John 4:36
" ...The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ... " [ Jesus, to his disciples]

III. Meditation: The sweetness in your strength

If we rejoice in you and give you thanks,
then things we cannot explain
begin to make sense.

Why should one sow and another reap?
It seems unfair and unjust-until we give thanks
for all we have received from your grace.

Be with us, as you were with Joseph
even after his brothers betrayed him;
and let us rejoice in you and give you thanks.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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