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 Contempt of the Proud--May 29, 2018


The contempt of the proud, the scorn of those at ease--
millions suffer from it, multitudes have had their fill.
God, do we not know that you stand with the widow,
not with the proud wealthy? Have we no conscience?
Has our faith been shipwrecked?  Remind us again:
the abundance which is important to you is the
abundance of love and faith in our hearts,
not the treasure in our bank accounts. 

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 123; 146; 30; 86
Prov. 15:16-33
1 Tim. 1:18-2:15
Matt. 12:33-42

Selected Verses
Ps. 123:4
Our soul has had more than its fill
          of the scorn of those who are at ease,
          of the contempt of the proud.

Prov. 15:25
The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but maintains the widow’s boundaries.

1 Tim. 1:19b
By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith…

Matt. 12:34b
"…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  …"  [Jesus to his Pharisee critics]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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