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.

October 05, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 103, 117, 139, 150
Hosea 5:8-6:6
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Matthew 14:1-12

II. Selections
Psalm 150:6
Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Hosea 6:4
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.

1 Corinthians 2:9
But, as it is written,
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him" ...

Matthew 14:9-10
The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

III. Meditation: No eye has seen, no ear has heard

Let everything that breathes praise your name, O God.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart conceived
the things you have prepared for those who love you.

But our love for you is not like yours for us. Ours is
like a morning cloud, or the dew that goes away early.
We are too much like the king who had John executed.

The king was truly sorry, but his hands were tied:
he had to consider the commitments he had made;
what would his guests think if he reneged on his oath?

We have behaved like the king-expediency overrides
morality for us, too. Forgive our fickle hearts, O God.

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