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.

Your Joy Is Our Strength--Nov. 13, 2013


Dear God, I accept that "Babylon" (or Rome)
was full of sinful people, but how can we harmonize
the compassion of Jesus with its total, violent destruction?

I want to take a different lesson from these verses.  Food, wine,
and wantonness of Roman citizens did not put gladness
in their hearts--the joy you give us is our strength.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 15; 147:1-11; 48; 4
Neh. 7:73b-8:3, 5-18
Rev. 18:21-24
Matt. 15:29-39

Selected Verses

Ps.  4:7
You have put gladness in my heart
          more than when their grain and wine abound.

Neh. 8:10b
"…and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  [Ezra to the assembly of men and women]

Rev. 18:21
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
     “With such violence Babylon the great city
          will be thrown down,
          and will be found no more…"

Matt. 15:32a
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat…"

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)