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 Vileness is Exalted--August 31, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 12, 146, 36, 7
Job 12:1; 13:3-17, 21-27
Acts 12:1-17
John 8:33-47

II. Selections
Psalm 12:7-8
You, O LORD, will protect us;
      you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
      as vileness is exalted among humankind.

Job 13:9
“…Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
      Or can you deceive him, as one person deceives another? … ”
[Job replies to his critics]

Acts 12:2
[King Herod] had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.

John 8:34
Jesus answered [the Jews who had believed in him], “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. … ”

III. Meditation

God, we manage to deceive one another;
but how foolish to think we deceive you.

When the wicked prowl, when vileness is exalted,
when bellicosity is camouflaged as compassion, when—
totally abusing their power—rulers kill the innocent,
and then laud themselves for their courage and kindness…

you are not deceived.

As for us, have we become so enslaved by our own power
and wealth that we are helpless to see what is happening?

God have mercy.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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