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.

No Refuge for You, Jesus--July 30, 2018



Lord Jesus,
they mocked you, stripped you,
and led you away to be crucified.
There was for you, on that cruel day,
no refuge in the shadow of God's wings,
no refuge till the destroying storms passed by.
You showed us what it meant to incline your heart
to God, and to risk your life for God.
Give us strength to do the same.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Josh. 24:16-33
Rom. 16:1-16
Matt. 27:24-31

Selected Verses
Ps. 57:1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
          for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
          until the destroying storms pass by. 

Josh. 24:23
[Joshua] said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." 

Rom. 16:3-4
Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 

Matt. 27:31
After mocking [Jesus], [the soldiers] stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him away to crucify him.


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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