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 We Approach You, O God--June 5, 2015


How varied the moods we are in
when we approach you, O God.
Sometimes it is to celebrate all
the bounty you have given us;
at other times to tell you that
our soul is full of troubles;
or even to prove our love
and, forgive us, to show
how righteous we are.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 88; 148; 6; 20
Deut. 26:1-11
2 Cor. 8:16-24
Luke 18:9-14

Selected Verses
Ps. 88:3
For my soul is full of troubles,
          and my life draws near to Sheol. 

Deut. 26:11
Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

2 Cor. 8:24
Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.

Luke 18:9
…[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt…
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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