With Just a Staff
I. Readings
Psalms 34, 146, 25, 91
Genesis 45:1-15
1 Corinthians 7:32-40
Mark 6:1-13
II. Selections
Psalm 34:17
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
Genesis 45:8
So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
1 Corinthians 7:32b-33
The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife…
Mark 6:8
[Jesus] ordered [his disciples] to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts…
III. Meditation
To go out with just a staff, and no provisions;
to trust you to hear our cry for help, and rescue;
to be anxious over nothing except the affairs of the Lord;
to live in the assurance that you have a plan for our lives,
which you will carry out—can we, can anyone, live like this?
From my misplaced anxieties, rescue me, O God.
Meditations inspired by readings from the Daily Lectionary as found in the Mission Yearbook of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Elmer E. Ewing
- 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.
"Elijah" - A bronze sculpture by a friend, the late Reverend Gurdon Brewster. Click on the image to see more of his sculptures.
Archives
Samples from the archives
- 3/19/18 Remedy for Hubris--A Child Could Do It
- 2/25/14 Unbind me, Jesus
- 10/26/13 Refreshing hearts, in Christ
- 8/9/13 When things I do displease you, God
- 2/7/13 Freed, saved, gathered in
- 1/1/13 For a joy that is complete
- 11/20/12 Though the fig tree does not blossom
- 11/19/12 Alas, my house is set on high
- 10/14/12 Held in your arms
- 9/14/12 The land cries out against us
- 8/29/12 The snare of false accusation
- 8/5/12 Tie up the strong man
- 4/5/12 We who dip bread
- 9/23/10 The right to be joyful
- 9/18/10 Chief cornerstone
- 7/27/10 Triumph over enemies
- 10/9/08 Our iniquity is great
- 5/14/08 When at night
- 2/17/08 The thin and ugly
- 1/17/07 We do not know you
- 1/3/07 Promises
- 1/2/07 For things not seen
- 10/3/06 Fear of you
- 10/2/06 Little we know
No comments:
Post a Comment