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.

Drive Out Our Sins--June 30, 2014


Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple;
King Balak wanted to drive Israel out of his land;
we want to drive sins out of our mortal bodies.
May your righteousness look down upon us;
by grace may our faith spring up to you.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Numb. 22:1-21
Rom. 6:12-23
Matt. 21:12-22

Selected Verses
Ps. 85:11
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
          and righteousness will look down from the sky. 

Numb. 22:6a
"…Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land…"  [King Balak to Balaam]

Rom. 6:18
…and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Matt. 21:12
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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