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.

Though God's Word Runs Swiftly--Oct. 22, 2015


Gracious God, you send out your command
to the earth; your word runs swiftly--
why is it that we fail to obey you?
When Jesus healed the sick, he
asked them not to make it
known, but the news was
too good to be kept secret.
In our hearts we know that we
want to follow the directions you
give us, and yet we prefer our own way.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 143; 147:12-20; 81; 116
Jer. 42:1-22
1 Cor. 16:1-9
Matt. 12:15-21

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:15
 [The LORD] sends out his command to the earth;
          his word runs swiftly. 

Jer. 42:21
"…So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.  …"  [Jeremiah to the Israelites who had asked him for the LORD's instructions]

1 Cor. 16:1
Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 

Matt. 12:16
…and [Jesus] ordered [the people he had cured] not to make him known.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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