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.

We Love Darkness--Feb. 21, 2013


 You do great things for us, O God;
we do not receive them well.

You give us laws to guide our way;
we smash the tablets to pieces.

You promise we can enter your rest;
no thank you--we are too busy.

You send your light into our world;
but we love darkness, not light.

God, have mercy.


Lectionary Readings

Ps. 27; 147; 12-20; 126; 102
Deut. 9:23-10:5
Heb. 4:1-10
John 3:16-21

Selected Verses

Ps. 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us,
            and we rejoiced.

Deut. 10:2
"…I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed  …"  [The LORD to Moses]

Heb. 4:1
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

John 3:19
"…And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.  …"  [Jesus to Nicodemus]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)