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.

May 05, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 97, 115, 124
Joshua 1:1-9
Ephesians 3:1-13
Matthew 8:5-17

II. Selections
Psalm 97:11
Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.

Joshua 1:3
" ...Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. ... " [ The LORD to Joshua]

Ephesians 3:11-12
This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Matthew 8:17
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases."

III. Meditation: Light and joy

As you promised to Moses,
you give gifts beyond measure.

You take our infirmities
and bear our diseases.

You give us bold, confident
access through faith in Christ.

To be with you is joy;
it is to see the light dawn.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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