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.

September 25, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 28, 54, 99
2 Kings 5:19-27
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Matthew 5:27-37

II. Selections
Psalm 54:4-5
But surely, God is my helper;
the LORD is the upholder of my life.
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
In your faithfulness, put an end to them.

2 Kings 5:25a
[ Gehazi] went in and stood before his master; and Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?"

1 Corinthians 5:8
Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Matthew 5:30
" ...And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go to hell. ... " [ Jesus, sitting on the mountain]

III. Meditation: In your faithfulness, put an end to them

Surely, you are our helper and the upholder of our life.
We do not seek your vengeance against our enemies,
except for the important enemies we find within:
the yeast of malice and evil, causing us to sin;
and-when we stand before you, and you
ask where we have been-lies instead
of the bread of sincerity and truth.
In your faithfulness, defend us.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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