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.

Lest Wind and Wave Overcome Us--March 17, 2015

[From April 5, 2011 archive]

It is dark.
You have not yet come to us.
The sea is rough; a strong wind blows.

We do not understand our own actions;
for we do not do what we want,
but the very things we hate.

We carry burdens we should not carry,
and we do not keep holy the good
things you have given us.

O Lord, we lift up our souls to you--
save us, lest the wind and waves
overcome us.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 34; 146; 25; 91
Jer. 17:19-27
Rom. 7:13-25
John 6:16-27

Selected Verses
Ps. 25:1
 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

Jer. 17:22
And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath or do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.

Rom. 7:15
I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

John 6:16-27
It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.  The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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