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.

For Love of Raisin Cakes--Sept. 29, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 96, 147:1-11, 132, 134
Hosea 3:1-5
Acts 21:15-26
Luke 5:27-39

II. Selections
Psalm 96:1
O sing to the LORD a new song;
      sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Hosea 3:1
The LORD said to me again, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”

Acts 21:21-22a
“…[The Jewish believers] have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. What then is to be done? … ” [James and the other Jerusalem elders to Paul]

Luke 5:39
“…And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’ ” [Jesus to the Pharisees and their scribes]

III. Meditation

We sing a new song to you,
but shall we forget the old?
We like the old wine, but shall we
reject the new before we taste it?

Must we choose between Moses and Jesus?
Your forgiving love, even after we have
turned to other gods for love of raisin cakes,
is an old story forever new and wonderful.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)