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.

In Awe--Aug. 10, 2020

 

Lord Jesus,

 some hold you in esteem

but do not dare to join you;  

others come only by stealth

or when human help fails.

 

But through the abundance

of your steadfast love, we

will enter your house and

bow down before you

in awe.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 5; 145; 82; 29

Judg. 12:1-7

Acts 5:12-26

John 3:1-21

 

Selected Verses

Ps. 5:7

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
          will enter your house,
I will bow down toward your holy temple

          in awe of you.

 

Judg. 12:2

Jephthah said to [the men of Ephraim], “My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely.  But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.  …”

 

Acts 5:13

None of the rest dared to join [the apostles and their adherents], but the people held them in high esteem.

 

John 3:2

[Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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