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.

We Pray for Peace--Nov. 24, 2019



God of steadfastness and encouragement,
we give thanks to you among the peoples
and sing praises to you among the nations.

We do not know when your kingdom will appear,
when all the nations now at war with each other
will agree to a policy of harmony and peace.
Yet we pray for such a day, work to bring
it nearer—a blessing to all the earth.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 108; 150; 66; 23
Isa. 19:19-25
Rom. 15:5-13
Luke 19:11-27

Selected Verses
Ps. 108:3
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples,
          and I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Isa. 19:24
On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth…

Rom. 15:5
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus…

Luke 19:11
As they 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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