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.


Is, Was, Is to Come--Dec. 5, 2011



God, help us know the scriptures and your power,
for you are near to all who call on you--
to all who call upon you in truth.

Forgive our sin, we beg you.
How can we stand against you?
You are the Alpha and the Omega,
who is and who was and who is to come.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 122; 145; 40; 67
Amos 7:1-9
Rev. 1:1-8
Matt. 22:23-33

Selected Verses
Ps. 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
      to all who call on him in truth.

Amos 7:2
When [the locusts of the vision] had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
      "O Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you!
           How can Jacob stand?
           He is so small!"

Rev. 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Matt. 22:29
Jesus answered [the Sadducees], "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. …"
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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