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.


Discipline Us--Feb. 22, 2012



O God, loving and gracious and holy, you lift up the downtrodden;
you cast the wicked to the ground.

How foolish we are to trust in ourselves that we are righteous
and to regard others with contempt,

for full well you know how many are our transgressions
and how great are our sins.

Discipline us for our good, so that we might share
some hint of your holiness.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Amos 5:6-15
Heb. 12:1-14
Luke 18:9-14

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:6
The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
      he casts the wicked to the ground.

Amos 5:12a
For I know how many are your transgressions,
      and how great are your sins…

Heb. 12:10
For [our parents] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.

Luke 18:9
[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt…
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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