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.

Boston: Distress and Anguish--April 16, 2013



 Psalm 116:3
The snares of death encompassed me;
          the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
          I suffered distress and anguish.

Tonight I deviate from my usual meditation pattern to reflect upon Sunday and Monday in Boston.  We visited family there over the weekend and attended Old South Church for worship--an historic church, where Ben Franklin was baptized.  The church sits just beyond the finish line of the marathon; and the pews were full, even the balconies, with out of town visitors for that event.  The man next to me had come from Connecticut to watch his daughter and wife compete, although he mentioned that his wife had injured her leg and might not finish.

Honestly, we were unaware that the marathon was going to happen the next day until the service started; but we soon found out.  It was a lively, cheerful service, full of allusions to the marathon, including a blessing of the athletes.  The good cheer and excitement were contagious; and we were sorry that we had to drive the 300 miles home Sunday afternoon, missing the race. 

This afternoon the news came.  The snares of death, the pangs of Sheol, distress and anguish. 

Our daughter-in-law is a trauma surgeon in one of the Boston hospitals.  This is an excerpt from an e-mail she just sent, slightly edited:

"We prepare for this [kind of emergency] as best we can but it's just so terrible when it actually happens -- the ER smelled of smoke.  The news reports are correct -- lots of lower extremity and soft tissue injuries.  And unfortunately some amputations.

"The hospital is on lock-down until 6 a.m.  So only employees can get in.  I left at about 9:40 p.m. to be greeted by SWAT teams with machine guns and dozens of news vans at the main entrance.  So scary.  I walked home and the streets were eerily quiet.

"This is a very sad day here in Boston."

I am wondering about my pew-mate from Connecticut.  Was he standing by the finish line, waiting for his daughter or his wife?  God be merciful to all who suffer distress and anguish.


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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