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.

The Impact of Small Things--July 21, 2015


Teach me your way, O Lord my God;
give me an undivided heart to revere you.
Nabal thought it a small thing to insult David,
but David wanted to slaughter him and all his males.
Paul thought it a small thing to have healed a man crippled
since birth, but the crowd was prepared to worship him as a god.
When your kingdom comes among us, it may seem a small thing,
but there is no predicting how much it will grow, or the amazing
impact
it may have.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 123; 146; 30; 86
1 Sam. 25:1-22
Acts 14:1-18
Mark 4:21-34

Selected Verses
Ps. 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD,
          that I may walk in your truth;
          give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 

1 Sam. 25:21b-22
"…but he has returned me evil for good.  God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of all who belong to him.” [David, speaking of Nabal, who had insulted him]

Acts 14:15
“Friends, why are you doing this?  We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.  …"  [Paul to the people who were calling him and Barnabas gods]

Mark 4:21-34
"…[The kingdom of God] is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth…"  [Jesus to the crowd]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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