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.

Mountains Crumble--September 1, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 96, 147:1-11, 132, 134
Job 12:1; 14:1-22
Acts 12:18-25
John 8:47-59

II. Selections
Psalm 134:1
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
      who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
      and bless the LORD.

Job 14:18-19
“…But the mountain falls and crumbles away,
      and the rock is removed from its place;
the waters wear away the stones;
      the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
      so you destroy the hope of mortals. … ”
[Job pleads his case to God]

Acts 12:21-22
On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to [the people of Tyre and Sidon]. The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!”

John 8:53a
“…Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? … ” [Those who had believed in him, to Jesus]

III. Meditation

His subjects heaped adulation upon King Herod—they needed
his favor; but Herod’s greatness was superficial and fleeting.

Mountains crumble away, waters wear down earth and stone,
and our hopes are destroyed when we base them upon our
own achievements or upon the exaltation of others.

Much more than the citizens of Tyre and Sidon depended upon Herod,
we depend upon you. We need your favor, but you do not require our
praise to establish your greatness. It is for our own spiritual health that
we praise you. We stand by night, lift up our hands, and bless your name.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)