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.

November 18, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 56, 111, 118
Joel 3:9-17
James 2:1-13
Luke 16:10-18

II. Selections
Psalm 111:1
Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Joel 3:16
The LORD roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.

James 2:13
For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Luke 16:10
" ...Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and who ever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. ... " [ Jesus to his disciples]

III. Meditation: One thing leads to another

Make us faithful in the smallest things,
honest even in what seems trivial,
that we may be faithful and honest in much.

Let our thanks to you be from our whole heart,
for you are a refuge for your people;
and let us show mercy, that we may obtain yours.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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