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.


To Seek One Thing--March 1, 2012



One thing the psalmist asked for; he was single-minded.
One thing the paralytic wanted--to reach Jesus.

Teach us to seek one thing, one single thing above all else--
to be with you, behold your beauty, do your will.

Whether we plant, or whether we water, you provide the growth;
you will provide it even if we find ourselves in prison.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 27; 147:12-20; 126; 102
Gen. 39:1-23
1 Cor. 2:14-3:15
Mark 2:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 27:4
One thing I asked of the LORD,
      that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
      all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
      and to inquire in his temple.

Gen. 39:21
But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.

1 Cor. 3:7
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Mark 2:4
And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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