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.

Courage to Resist the Angry Evil--Sept. 21, 2012



The queen refused to obey the king,
who wanted to glorify himself
by putting her on display.
She showed courage!

The king loved human glory
more than the glory that comes
from you.  Like the mob assaulting
Jason, the king was capable of great evil.

We need courage to stand against angry evil,
O God; happy are those to whom you
impute no iniquity, in whose
spirit there is no deceit.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 130; 148; 32; 139
Esth. 1:1-4, 10-19
Acts 17:1-15 
John 12:36b-43

Selected Verses

Ps. 32:2
Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
          and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Esth. 1:12
But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command conveyed by the eunuchs.  At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him.

Acts 17:6-7a
When [the mob] could not find [Paul and Silas], they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests.  …"

John 12:42-43
Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in [Jesus].  But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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