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.

Making Straight Paths Crooked--September 2, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 116, 147:12-20, 26, 130
Job 16:16-22; 17:1, 13-16
Acts 13:1-12
John 9:1-17

II. Selections
Psalm 26:11
But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
      redeem me, and be gracious to me.

Job 17:1
“…My spirit is broken, my days are extinct,
      the grave is ready for me … ” [Job prays]

Acts 13:9-10
But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy spirit, looked intently at [the magician Elymas] and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? … ”

John 9:17
So [the Pharisees] said again to the blind man, “What do you say about [Jesus]? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

III. Meditation

“I walk in my integrity”—what does that mean?
It sounds prideful. Some days I feel akin to Job:
“My spirit is broken, my days are
extinct, the grave is ready for me.”

Be gracious to me, redeem me, Jesus.
Open my eyes and let me recognize you.
Your paths are straight; forgive me if I have made
them crooked as I attempt to walk in my integrity.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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