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.

June 13, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 96, 132, 134
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14
2 Corinthians 11:21b-33
Luke 19:11-27

II. Selections
Psalm 96:2
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.

Deuteronomy 32:10
He sustained him in a desert land,
in a howling wilderness waste;
he shielded him, cared for him
guarded him as the apple of his eye.

2 Corinthians 11:25
Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea ...

Luke 19:11
As they were listening to this, [ Jesus] went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

III. Meditation: In a howling wilderness waste

In a desert land-in a howling wilderness waste-
you sustained the people of Israel and shielded them,
cared for them, guarded them as the apple of your eye.

You sustained St. Paul in one adversity after another;
support us in our wilderness and in our time of peril.

Though your kingdom may not appear immediately,
remind us every day to pray and work for its coming,
sing to you, praise your name, and tell of your salvation.

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