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.


A Fool's Voice--June 8, 2012



Lord Jesus, you dismissed the crowds
and went up the mountain
to pray.

I cry out to you, try to come before you
in prayer; but sometimes I feel my
prayer is a fool's voice with
many words.

Help me lay hold of your promise;
help me avoid empty words;
free me from constraint
by outworn rules.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 88; 148; 6; 20
Eccl. 5:1-7
Gal. 3:15-22
Matt. 14:22-36

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

Eccl. 5:3
For dreams come with many cares, and a fool's voice with many words.

Gal. 3:18
For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

Matt. 14:23
And after [Jesus] had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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