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.

Dragged Away with the Wicked--July 30, 2019

[From July 26, 2011 archive]

Sometimes I feel dragged away with the wicked,
or surrounded by too much coming and going.

I need to find a deserted place where I can go
all by myself and rest a while, where you

can open my heart so that eagerly I can listen
for your word and be dismissed in peace--

lest I speak peace with my neighbors
while mischief is in my heart.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 54; 146; 28; 99
2 Sam. 3:6-21
Acts 16:6-15
Mark 6:30-46

Selected Verses
Ps. 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
          with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
          while mischief is in their hearts.

2 Sam. 3:21
So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.

Acts 16:14
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth.  The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.

Mark 6:30-31
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.  He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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