Lord Jesus,
Paul contends that all human leaders belong to you;
where is the one in whom we may take refuge?
We sit beside the road, unable to see the way,
and wait for you to show us. Our pursuers
are ready to tear us apart and drag us away—
the pressures of our culture, temptations
to self-privilege and luxury, the lure of
self-aggrandizement, fear of failure.
Without you as shepherd, we are
a flock doomed to slaughter.
Save us and deliver us.
Lectionary Readings
Psalms 12, 146, 36, 7
Zechariah 11:4-17
1 Corinthians 3:10-23
Luke 18:31-43
Selected Verses
Psalm 7:1-2
O LORD my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
Zechariah 11:4
Thus said the LORD my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.
1 Corinthians 3:21-23
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Luke 18:35
As [Jesus] approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
Meditations inspired by readings from the Daily Lectionary as found in the Mission Yearbook of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Elmer E. Ewing
- 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.
"Elijah" - A bronze sculpture by a friend, the late Reverend Gurdon Brewster. Click on the image to see more of his sculptures.
Archives
Samples from the archives
- 3/19/18 Remedy for Hubris--A Child Could Do It
- 2/25/14 Unbind me, Jesus
- 10/26/13 Refreshing hearts, in Christ
- 8/9/13 When things I do displease you, God
- 2/7/13 Freed, saved, gathered in
- 1/1/13 For a joy that is complete
- 11/20/12 Though the fig tree does not blossom
- 11/19/12 Alas, my house is set on high
- 10/14/12 Held in your arms
- 9/14/12 The land cries out against us
- 8/29/12 The snare of false accusation
- 8/5/12 Tie up the strong man
- 4/5/12 We who dip bread
- 9/23/10 The right to be joyful
- 9/18/10 Chief cornerstone
- 7/27/10 Triumph over enemies
- 10/9/08 Our iniquity is great
- 5/14/08 When at night
- 2/17/08 The thin and ugly
- 1/17/07 We do not know you
- 1/3/07 Promises
- 1/2/07 For things not seen
- 10/3/06 Fear of you
- 10/2/06 Little we know
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