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.

November 03, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 5, 29, 82
Zephaniah 1:7-13
Revelation 14:1-13
Luke 12:49-59

II. Selections
Psalm 5:2
Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

Zephaniah 1:7a-b
Be silent before the LORD GOD!
For the day of the LORD is at hand ...

Revelation 14:2
And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps ...

Luke 12:5o
" ...I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! ... " [ Jesus to his disciples]

III. Meditation: Listen to the sound

Listen to the sound of our cry, our King and our God!
Like you, we have a baptism with which to be baptized;
and what stress we will be under until it is completed!

We will be silent before you, when your day is at hand,
to hear the sound of many waters, the sound of thunder,
and a voice like the sound of harpists playing their harps.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)