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 12, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 9, 62, 73
Ezekiel 33:1-11
1 John 1:1-10
Matthew 9:27-34

II. Selections
Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Ezekiel 33:10
Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: "Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?"

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 9:27
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

III. Meditation: How can we live?

Our transgressions and our sins
weigh upon us; we waste away
because of them.

How can we live?

If we confess our sins, you are
faithful and just; you will forgive
us our sins, and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

Though our flesh and heart fail,
you are the strength of our heart
and our portion forever.

Have mercy on us, Son of David!

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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