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.

O, Crucified One--July 30, 2012



The stones of the ages are witnesses;
women and men have risked their necks
against people like those who mocked you--
men with teeth like spears and arrows,
with tongues like sharp swords.

We owe these heroes thanks,
and we thank you,
whom they served.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Josh. 24:16-33
Rom. 16:1-16
Matt. 27:24-31

Selected Verses
Ps. 57:4
I lie down among lions
      that greedily devour human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
      their tongues sharp swords.

Josh. 24:27
Joshua said to all the people, "See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God."

Rom. 16:3
Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

Matt. 27:31
After mocking [Jesus], they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

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