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.

Even in the Desert--Feb. 5, 2019


Gracious, generous God,
even in the desert,
from the abundance of your house
all people may feast,
and the river of your delights
is for everyone to taste.

Grant us more,
give us courage to face the truth,
and we shall not go out in haste,
neither shall we flee in flight,
if only you will go before us,
and you will be our rear guard.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 12; 146; 36; 7
Isa. 52:1-12
Gal. 4:12-20
Mark 8:1-10

Selected Verses
Ps. 36:8
[All people] feast on the abundance of your house,
          and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 

Isa. 52:12
For you shall not go out in haste,
          and you shall not go in flight;
for the LORD will go before you,
          and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Gal. 4:16
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 

Mark 8:4
His disciples replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?”

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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