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 27, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 93, 117, 136
Leviticus 25:1-17
James 1:2-8, 16-18
Luke 12:13-21

II. Selections
Psalm 136:23
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever ...

Leviticus 25:10
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.

James 1:17
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Luke 12:15
And [ Jesus] said to [ the crowd], "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

III. Meditation: Jubilee

O God, your steadfast love endures forever;
you remember those in their low estate and
proclaim liberty throughout the land, a jubilee year.

Every generous act or perfect gift is from you.
Put us on guard against all kinds of greed, and
remind us that our life does not consist in abundance.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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