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.


Worth Selling All We Have--June 4, 2012



In your righteousness look down upon us;
may our faithfulness spring up to you.

If we look to our own accomplishments,
all our toil may seem a waste--nothing gained.

But the gospel we received was not of human origin;
your kingdom is like finding a pearl of great value.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Eccl. 2:1-15
Gal. 1:1-17
Matt. 13:44-52

Selected Verses
Ps. 85:11
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
      and righteousness will look down from the sky.

Eccl. 2:11
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Gal. 1:11
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin

Matt. 13:45-46
"…Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. …" [Jesus to his disciples]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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