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.

An Old Man's Reflections--July 12, 2012



One day all I have
built will be torn down,
for who can resist your will
or the simple passage of time?

Even the righteous Moses, for whom
you sometimes changed your mind,
did not receive his dying wish.

Still, there is comfort in this:
when I was brought low,
you saved me, O God.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 116; 147:12-20; 26; 130
Deut. 3:18-28
Rom. 9:19-33
Matt. 24:1-14

Selected Verses
Ps. 116:6
The LORD protects the simple;
      when I was brought low, he saved me.

Deut. 3:26
But the LORD was angry with me on your account and would not heed me. The LORD said to me, "Enough from you! Never speak to me of this matter again! …"

Rom. 9:19
You will say to me then, "Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"

Matt. 24:2
Then [Jesus] asked [his disciples], "You see all these [temple buildings], do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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