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 Clay in Your Hand--April 3, 2019

[From March 13, 2013]

O God, to set my mind
on myself is death;
to set it on your Spirit
is life and peace.

You will never drive away
anyone who comes to you;
rework the clay in your hand;
fashion it as seems good to you.

Then, Jesus, open my lips, that
my heart may declare your praise.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Jer. 18:1-11
Rom. 8:1-11
John 6:27-40

Selected Verses
Ps. 51:15
O Lord, open my lips,
          and my mouth will declare your praise.

Jer. 18:4
The vessel [the potter] was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

Rom. 8:6
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

John 6:37
"…Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away…"  [Jesus to the people who had followed him to Capernaum]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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