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.

Undivided Attention, Undivided Hearts--July 20, 2010


I. Readings

Psalms 123, 146, 30, 86
Joshua 8:1-22
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 26:47-56

II. Selections
Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD,
      that I may walk in your truth;
      give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

Joshua 8:17
There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel; they left the city open, and pursued Israel.

Romans 14:8
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Matthew 26:55-56
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

III. Meditation: Undivided Attention, Undivided Hearts

Teach us your way, God, that we may walk in your truth;
give us an undivided heart, that we may revere your name.

The people of Ai were defeated because they were ambushed.
Their attention was directed to the wrong place—hearts divided.

At your arrest, the hearts of the disciples were divided; devoted
to you, but concerned for their own safety, they deserted and fled.

Focus our attention on you; make us single-minded, hearts undivided—
whether we live or whether we die, let it be to you, for we are yours.

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