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 14, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 30, 86, 123
Hosea 12:2-14
Acts 26:24-27:8
Luke 8:40-56

II. Selections
Psalm 86:4
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Hosea 12:8
Ephraim has said, "Ah, I am rich,
I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
no offense has been found in me
that would be sin."

Acts 26:2
But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. ... "

Luke 8:53
And [ the mourners] laughed at [ Jesus], knowing that [ Jairus' daughter] was dead.

III. Meditation: The sober truth

Sometimes we lift up our soul to you
and ask you to gladden our heart,
and what we hear is the sober truth.
Unprepared to hear what you say,
we laugh at you, for we know better.

After all, we are not like other people,
for we are rich, having gained wealth
for ourselves; moreover, in all of our
gain we have committed no offense
that could ever be counted as sin.

Why are our hearts not made glad?

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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