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.


Do Not Cast Me Away--Apr. 13, 2011


All day long you have held out your hands
to a disobedient and contrary people.

Will your response be to destroy the shepherds
and the lords of the flock—perhaps the sheep too?

No, your response is to send the Good Shepherd,
the one who lays down his life for the sheep.

Do not cast me away from your presence; restore to me
the joy of your salvation; and sustain in me a willing spirit.


Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Jer. 25:30-38
Rom. 10:14-21
John 10:1-18

Selected Verses
Ps. 51:11-12
Do not cast me away from your presence,
      and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
      and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Jer. 25:35
Flight shall fail the shepherds,
      and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.

Rom. 10:21
But of Israel [God] says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

John 10:11
“…I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. …” [Jesus to the Pharisees]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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