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 17, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 16, 62, 97
Joshua 3:14-4:7
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 26:1-16

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

Joshua 3:17
While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Matthew 26:10
But Jesus, aware of this, said to [ the disciples], "Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. ... "

III. Meditation: A living sacrifice

The priests who held up the ark
while the nation crossed the Jordan
performed their service for you.
So did the woman who anointed
Jesus' feet. Surely light dawned
for them, and joy; they were upright
in heart. Like them, may we present
our bodies, a living sacrifice to you.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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