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 06, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 42, 102, 133
Ezra 4:7, 11-24
Revelation 11:1-19
Matthew 13:44-52

II. Selections
Psalm 133:3a
[ When kindred live together in unity] it is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.

Ezra 4:15b-c
" ...You will discover in the annals that [ Jerusalem] is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from long ago. On that account this city was laid waste. ... " [ Letter from his subjects in the province Beyond the River to King Artaxerxes of Persia]

Revelation 11:10
...and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.

Matthew 13:44
" ...The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

III. Meditation: Treasure worth the cost

It is beautiful to live together in peace,
like the dew that falls on Mt Hermon;
but there are times when you summon
the faithful to call corruption by name.

Rebellion is in the eye of the beholder,
particularly when the beholder is king;
but you call us to a far better kingdom;
to enter it is like finding buried treasure.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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