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.

When the Manna Is Gone--July 16, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 51, 148, 142, 65
Joshua 4:19-5:1, 10-15
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 26:17-25

II. Selections
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
      and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Joshua 5:12
The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Matthew 26:22
And [the disciples] became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”

III. Meditation

Surely you don’t mean us, Lord?
Our manna is gone; now we must rely
on the other resources you have provided?
That should not greatly distress us, but it does.

We’re used to the old; can we cope with the new?
We do not trust you, do not trust ourselves in this.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation; but in our
joy, forbid that we claim to be wiser than we are.

Sustain in us a willing spirit, to live in harmony
with no regard for social or economic class.
Erase all trace of our conceit, and let us
enjoy the bountiful crops of Canaan.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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