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.

Like a Lion Lurking--Dec. 12, 2012


 The things that separate us from you
are like a lion lurking in ambush,
ready to tear us away from your presence.

After King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw you.
What is there to keep us from
experiencing your presence?

You protected and you forgave
the woman caught in adultery;
grant us the grace and
peace of forgiveness.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 50; 147:1-11; 53; 17

Isa. 6:1-13
2 Thess. 1:1-12
John 7:53-8:11

Selected Verses

Ps. 17:12

They are like a lion eager to tear,
            like a young lion lurking in ambush.

Isa. 6:1a
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty…

2 Thess. 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 8:9
When [the woman's accusers] heard [what Jesus said], they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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