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.

April 25, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 49, 96, 138
Leviticus 23:1-22
2 Thessalonians 2:1-17
Matthew 7:1-12

II. Selections
Psalm 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Leviticus 23:14
You shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your settlements.

2 Thessalonians 2:16
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Matthew 7:7
" ...Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ... " [ Jesus, seated on the mountain, speaking to the crowds]

III. Meditation: Your work, our work

We are the work of your hands, and you give us work to do,
and you do not forsake us as you fulfill your purpose for us.

You have promised that we will find you if we search,
and that if we knock the door will be opened for us.

Therefore we ask you to comfort our hearts and
strengthen them in every good work and word.

Before we enjoy the fruit of our labor,
may we always pause to thank you.

No comments:

Post a Comment