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.

To God the Invisible--Feb. 5, 2014


O God, though you are invisible,
help us persevere as if we saw you.
For you made all the heavenly bodies--
why should we worship our possessions?
You give us the bread that comes down
from heaven; may we eat it and live.
We don't know how you provide,
but we trust that you do so,
and we walk on together.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 96; 147:1-11; 132; 134
Gen. 22:1-18
Heb. 11:23-31
John 6:41-51

Selected Verses

Ps. 96:5
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
          but the LORD made the heavens.

Gen. 22:8
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."  So the two of them walked on together.

Heb. 11:27
By faith [Moses] left Egypt, unafraid of the king's anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible.

John 6:58
"…This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."  [Jesus to the Jews who had followed him across the sea]


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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