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.

Holy God, Who Are We to Worship You?--May 7, 2014


O Holy God, who are we to worship you?
Moses spoke to you, and you answered in thunder.
And when your Son, the Beloved, was baptized,
your voice spoke from heaven, for in him
all your fullness was pleased to dwell.

We dare not ask to hear you speak in thunder,
nor expect to hear you speak from heaven.
It is enough that we have heard
the words of your Beloved.
Pray help us heed them.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 99; 147:1-11; 9; 118
Exod. 19:16-25
Col. 1:15-23
Matt. 3:13-17

Selected Verses
Ps. 99:9
Extol the LORD our God,
          and worship at his holy mountain;
          for the LORD our God is holy.

Exod. 19:19
As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. 

Col. 1:19
For in [his beloved Son] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…

Matt. 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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