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.

Only a Mist that Vanishes?--Dec. 31, 2019



Lord Jesus Christ,
what is our life?  A mist that appears
for a little while and then vanishes.
Like a little child, we do not know
whether to go out our come in.

Who is there to help us?
If we  try to make our way,
someone steps in front of us.

Our ultimate trust is in you.
With you to help, we stand
and take up our mat
and walk.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 98; 146; 45; 96
1 Kings 3:5-14
James 4:13-17; 5:7-11
John 5:1-15

Selected Verses
Ps.146:3
Do not put your trust in princes,
          in mortals, in whom there is no help.

1 Kings 3:7
“…And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.  …”  [Solomon’s prayer]

James 4:14
Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

John 5:7-8
The sick man answered [Jesus], “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.    Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk.”

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