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.

December 28, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 2, 110, 111
Isaiah 49:13-23
Isaiah 54:1-13
Matthew 18:1-14

II. Selections
Psalm 110:1
The LORD says to my lord,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies my footstool."

Isaiah 49:23
Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Isaiah 54:4
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.

Matthew 18: 4
" ...Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ... " [ Jesus to his disciples]

III. Meditation: Our enemies, your footstool

You value humility-must we suffer shame and disgrace to achieve it?
Is it possible to be humble while we enjoy the humiliation of our enemies?
Perhaps the enemies that belong under your feet are our own hubris and arrogance.

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