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.


Astonishment and Hope--Jan. 25, 2012



Lord, truly you astonish us and give us hope.
We who do not know where we are going--
hardly even where we have come from--
are astonished at your awesome deeds.

For on our behalf you lived on earth
to show us what God's love is like;
on our behalf you entered heaven;
with God you have delivered us.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 65; 147:1-11; 125; 91
Gen. 16:1-14
Heb. 9:15-28
John 5:19-29

Selected Verses
Ps. 65:5
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
      O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
      and of the farthest seas.

Gen. 16:8
And [the angel of the LORD] said, "Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

Heb. 9:24
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

John 5:20
"…The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. …" [Jesus to his critics]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)