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.

June 20, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 51, 65, 142
Numbers 13:1-3, 21-30
Romans 2:25-3:8
Matthew 18:21-35

II. Selections
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

Numbers 13:27-28
And [ the spies] told [ Moses], "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. ... "

Romans 2:29
Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart-it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.

Matthew 18:35
" ...So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." [ Jesus to his disciples]

III. Meditation: A matter of the heart

Our faith is a matter of the heart;
it is spiritual and not literal.

Create in us a clean heart, O God;
put a new and right spirit within us,
that from our heart we may forgive.

And give us a heart of courage
when you send us on your way.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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