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.

February 13, 2010

Your Creative Spirit

I. Readings
Psalms 104, 149, 138, 98
Genesis 29:1-20
Romans 14:1-23
John 8:47-59

II. Selections
Psalm 104:30
When you send forth your spirit, [your creatures] are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.

Genesis 29:20
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

Romans 14:13
Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.

John 8:47a
“…Whoever is from God hears the words of God. … ” [Jesus to his critics]

III. Meditation

You send forth your Spirit,
O God, and creation happens.

Continually you renew the face of the ground;
constantly you revive the lives of your people.

Whoever receives your creative Spirit hears your words,
and as we love you, serving you becomes a joyful thing.

May we never be a stumbling block for one to whom you have spoken;
for who has received your Spirit, and who has not, is not for us to judge.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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