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 30, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 7, 12, 36
Ezra 5:1-17
Revelation 4:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9

II. Selections
Psalm 12:1
Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.

Ezra 5:3
At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shetharbozenai and their associates came to [ the Jews who were rebuilding the temple] and spoke to them thus, "Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?"

Revelation 4:1
After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

Matthew 13:2
Such great crowds gathered around [ Jesus] that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.

III. Meditation: There in heaven a door

There are always those who oppose the good-
full of suspicion, they watch for misdemeanors,
disposed to conclude there is no longer anyone
who is godly, that the faithful have disappeared.

Instead of watching for evildoers and terrorists,
make us like those who crowded on the beach,
listening for the words that Jesus would speak.
Make us attentive to his open door to heaven.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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