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.

Not by Mighty Armies, or Swift Missiles; Not from Selfish Ambition or Conceit--Sept. 13, 2017


Holy God, you are not impressed
by those who attempt to allay their fears
by reliance on mighty armies or swift missiles;
you do not align yourself with ruthless rulers
who go to any end to keep their power.

You call us to do nothing
from selfish ambition or conceit,
 but to regard others better than ourselves,
and to look not to our own interests
but to the interests of others.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 89:1-18; 147:1-11; 1; 33
1 Kings 17:1-24
Phil. 2:1-11
Matt. 2:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:10
[The LORD's] delight is not in the strength of the horse,
          nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner…

1 Kings 17:13-14
Elijah said to [the widow], "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." 

Phil. 2:3-4
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 

Matt. 2:1-3
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?  For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."  When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him…

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