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.

October 25, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 65, 91, 125
Micah 3:9-4:5
Revelation 8:1-13
Luke 10:17-24

II. Selections
Psalm 91:1-2
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."

Micah 3:11
Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price,
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the LORD and say,
"Surely the LORD is with us!
No harm shall come upon us."

Revelation 8:1
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Luke 10:17-18
The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ... "

III. Meditation: We trust in you.

God Most High, we trust in you.
We trust in you to shelter us.
You are refuge and fortress
as we abide in your shadow.
Protect us.

Protect us from the evil that surrounds,
and from our own sinful thoughts-
from supposing we can lean upon you
to shield us and hold us harmless from
our dishonest ways.

Protect us also from impatience
as we wait for demons to submit,
for Satan to crash down like lightning;
sometimes there is a silence in heaven
before you act.

No comments:

Post a Comment