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.

Jesus, the One with True Authority--Sept. 24, 2014


God of our salvation, we are always seeking
honor and glory, together with authority
that will beget more honor and glory.

How did Jesus resist such temptation?
Deliver us, as we remember your awesome
deeds--and how Jesus is the one with true authority.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 65; 147:1-11; 125; 91
Esth. 6:1-14
Acts 19:1-10
Luke 4:1-13

Selected Verses
Ps. 65:5a
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
          O God of our salvation…

Esth. 6:6
So Haman came in, and the king said to him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?"  Haman said to himself, "Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?" 

Acts 19:4
Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus."

Luke 4:6-7
And the devil said to [Jesus], "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 

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