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 Way from which I Shall Not Return--Sept. 6, 2018



Gracious God, you have dealt bountifully with me,
though I often make crooked your straight paths.
In a few years, I shall go the way from which
I shall not return; while it is day, help me
to work the works you want me to do,
before the night comes, before my
soul returns to rest in you.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 116; 147:12-20; 26; 130
Job 16:16-22, 17:1, 17:13-16
Acts 13:1-12
John 9:1-17

Selected Verses
Ps. 116:7
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
          for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

Job 16:22
For when a few years have come, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

Acts 13:9-10
But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at [the magician] and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?  …"

John 9:4
"…We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  …"  [Jesus to his disciples]

No comments:

Post a Comment