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.

An Old Man's Plea for Faith--Jan. 27, 2014


 O God Most High,
fulfill your purpose for me.
I am obsolete and old,
and I will soon disappear.

Why should I value goods
more than persons,
or require signs and wonders
before I will believe?

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Gen. 14:1-24
Heb. 8:1-13
John 4:43-54

Selected Verses

Ps. 57:2
 I cry to God Most High,
          to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Gen. 14:21
Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself."

Heb. 8:13b
And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.

John 4:48
Then Jesus said to [the father of the sick boy], "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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