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.

When Our Way to You Is Blocked--March 13, 2014


 When your servants work together,
even if they are destitute,
you will not despise
their prayer,
Lord Jesus.
We pray you,
bless the work we do
together; and when one way
to you is blocked, show us another.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 27; 147:12-20; 126; 102
Gen. 39:1-23
1 Cor. 2:14-3:15
Mark 2:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 27:17
[The LORD] will regard the prayer of the destitute,
          and will not despise their prayer.

Gen. 39:5
From the time that [Potiphar] made [Joseph] overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field.

1 Cor. 3:9
For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

Mark 2:4
And when [the four who carried the paralyzed man] could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)