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 23, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 81, 116, 143
Micah 5:1-4, 10-15
Revelation 9:1-12
Luke 10:25-37

II. Selections
Psalm 143:5
I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.

Micah 5:1
Now you are walled around with a wall;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel
upon the cheek.

Revelation 9:12
The first woe has passed. There are still two woes to come.

Luke 10:25
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

III. Meditation: Past, present, future

When we are under siege,
walled around with a wall,
we remember the days of old,
and think about all your deeds,
and on the works of your hands.

Then when the woe has passed,
although more woes will come,
we turn our thoughts forward;
we ask you what we must do
to have eternal life with you.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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