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.

Through Hardships Endured--June 12, 2019


If we suppose that your kingdom, O God, 
is coming soon, or that it is easy
to be a follower of Jesus, 
remind us of hardships 
endured by your people
over the many centuries.
But remind us also how you
promise to sustain your people.

Lectionary Readings 
Ps. 96; 147:1-11; 132; 134
Deut.31:30-32:14
2 Cor. 11:21b-33
Luke19:11-27

Selected Verses 
Ps. 132:1
O LORD, remember in David’s favor
          all the hardships he endured…

Deut. 32:10
[The LORD] sustained [Jacob, i.e.,the people of Israel] in a desert land, in a howling wilderness waste; he shielded him, cared for him, guarded him as the apple of his eye.

2 Cor. 11:23
Are they ministers of Christ?  I am talking like a madman--I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.

Luke19:11
As [the people in the crowd] were listening to this, [Jesus] went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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