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.

More than many Sparrows--Oct. 16, 2013


 God, make us mature in our thinking. 
Though the word from you is not
always what we want to hear,
we've no need to be afraid;
you have numbered the
hairs on our heads;
we are of value;
and we lie down
and sleep in peace,
knowing that in you
we lie down in safety.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Jer. 37:3-21
1 Cor. 14:13-25
Matt. 10:24-33

Selected Verses

Ps. 4:8
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
          for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.

Jer. 17b-c
The king questioned [Jeremiah] secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is!"  Then he said, "You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon."

1 Cor. 14:20
Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.

Matt. 10:30-31
And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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