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 28, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 28, 54, 99
1 Kings 1:32-2:46
Acts 26:24-27:8
Mark 13:28-37

II. Selections
Psalm 54:3
For the insolent have risen against me,
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not set God before them. Selah.

1 Kings 1:41
Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard [ the sound of celebration in the city] as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, "Why is the city in an uproar?"

Acts 26:29
Paul replied [ to King Agrippa], "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am-except for these chains."

Mark 13:37
" ...And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." [ Jesus to Peter, James, John, and Andrew]

III. Meditation: Good versus Evil

Far too often good people stand in chains
at the mercy of the ruthless and insolent,
who do not set you before them.

Sometimes, though, it is hard to know
which side of a fight belongs to the good,
and which to the bad.

Was Adonijah less virtuous than Solomon?
History is told by the winner, they say,
so who can be certain?

Jesus told us to expect a time when finally
good will conquer evil. He didn't say when,
just that we should stay awake.

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