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.


Gather Up the Fragments--Jan. 27, 2012



Lord, teach us to
provoke one another
to love and good deeds as
we meet to feast on your gifts,
gifts much too precious to be lost;
even the fragments we must gather up,
for though satisfied today with your bounty,
tomorrow we may hunger for your gifts again.
In the morning we cry out to you; hear our prayer,
and when you leave us, we will remember your words
as together we gather up the fragments of them.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 88; 148; 6; 20
Gen. 17:15-27
Heb. 10:11-25
John 6:1-15

Selected Verses
Ps. 88:13
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
      in the morning my prayer comes before you.

Gen. 17:22
And when he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.

Heb. 10:25-25b
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…

John 6:12
When [all the people] were satisfied, [Jesus] told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost."
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)