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.

April 01, 2010

On Maundy Thursday

I. Readings
Psalms 27, 147:12-20, 126, 102
Lamentations 2:10-18
1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11:27-32
Mark 14:12-25

II. Selections
Psalm 126:6
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.

Lamentations 2:18
Cry aloud to the Lord!
O wall of daughter Zion!
Let tears stream down like a torrent
day and night!
Give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite!

1 Corinthians 11:31
But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged.

Mark 14:20
[Jesus] said to [his disciples], “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. … ”

III. Meditation

Lord Jesus, you know us well;
we have dipped bread into the bowl with you.

You are the one who judges us;
if we judged ourselves we would not be judged.

But we have every reason to weep over our sin,
our tears should stream down like a torrent, day and night.

Grant that though we go out weeping, carrying our seed,
we may yet come to you with shouts of joy, carrying our sheaves.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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