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.

July 02, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 65, 91, 125
Numbers 22:41-23:12
Romans 7:13-25
Matthew 21:33-46

II. Selections
Psalms 91:4
...he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Numbers 24:8
" ...How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced? ... " [ Balaam to Barak, king of Moab]

Romans 7:21
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.

Matthew 21:42
Jesus said to [ the chief priests and elders], "Have you never read in the scriptures:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'? ... "

III. Meditation: Keep us safe from evil

Evil lies close at hand to good.
Builders reject a stone that
becomes the cornerstone.

We are asked to denounce
what you have not denounced.
God, under your wings, protect us.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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