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 the Earth Is Reaped--Nov. 2, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 42, 146, 102, 133
Zephaniah 1:14-18
Revelation 14:14-15:8
Luke 13:1-9

II. Selections
Psalm 42:8
By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
      and at night his song is with me,
      a prayer to the God of my life.

Zephaniah 1:14
The great day of the LORD is near,
      near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter,
      the warrior cries aloud there.

Revelation 14:16
So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Luke 13:9
“…‘…If [the unfruitful fig tree] bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” [In Jesus’ parable, the gardener replies to the land owner.]

III. Meditation

O God of our lives, how shall we relate to you?
Shall we cry aloud in fear that the day is near

and hastening fast when you will swing
your sickle and reap our sinful lives?

Or shall we sing a prayerful song of
gratitude for your steadfast love?

From fear or from gratitude,
Lord, make us bear fruit.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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