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.

And a Time to Be Silent--Sept. 11, 2020

 

Teach us to value silence,

O God, but not to misuse it.

 

May we not be silent from fear of

what others will think if we tell truth,

 

but, Lord, grant us patience to listen

in silence when others speak truth,

 

and when others are weeping,

may we in silence weep.

 

In silence we can hear

  all nature singing.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 51; 148; 142; 65

Job 29:1, 31:24-40

Acts 15:12-21

John 11:30-44

 

Selected Verses

Ps. 65:13

…the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
          the valleys deck themselves with grain,
          they shout and sing together for joy.

 

Job 31:34

“…because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors…”  [Job’s discourse]

 

Acts 15:12

The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

 

John 11:33

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

1 comment:

  1. Mea SententiaSeptember 12, 2020 at 9:06 AM

    “I have often regretted my words, but seldom my silence.”
    Have always liked this quote.

    ReplyDelete

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