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 21, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 28, 54, 99
Micah 3:1-8
Revelation 7:9-17
Luke 10:1-16

II. Selections
Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

Micah 3:6
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them ...

Revelation 7:17
" ...for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
[ One of the elders to the narrator]

Luke 10:10-11
" ...But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' ... " [ Jesus, as he sent out the seventy]

III. Meditation: When the kingdom comes near

O God, our strength and shield,
when your kingdom comes near,
comfort and succor collide
with protest and darkness.

Shall we find night with no seeing,
prophets without revelation,
or you as our shepherd,
our guide to the water of life?

Will hearts exult with songs of trust,
in thanks to the Lamb at the center,
or will they curse the covering blackness
because the sun has gone down?

O God, our strength and our shield,
our Helper, in whom we trust-
as we wipe the dust from our feet,
will you wipe the tears from our eyes?

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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