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 20, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 47, 57, 85
Micah 2:1-13
Revelation 7:1-8
Luke 9:51-62

II. Selections
Psalm 57:2
I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Micah 2:1
Alas for those who devise wickedness
and evil deeds on their beds!
When the morning comes they perform it,
because it is in their power.

Revelation 7:1
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

Luke 9:57-58
As they were going along the road, someone said to [ Jesus], "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

III. Meditation: Prayer of the refugee

O God Most High,
We cry to you because you fulfill your purpose for us.
Protect us from those who devise wickedness and evil deeds
on their beds. When morning comes, do not let them execute their plan.
Hold back the winds of war and destruction; have pity on all
of us; for we, like Jesus, have nowhere to lay our heads.
We pray in his name.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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