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.

No Argument Needed to Know God--Aug. 2, 2021

[From Aug. 3, 2015 archive]

 

It is hard to let you be our God, 

and for us to be your servants. 

We want to order you around, 

to tell you our plans for you.

 

And we want to see a sign, 

tangible proof you are real. 

Convince us with evidence. 

 

You are our refuge, O God. 

We pour out our hearts before you.  

Those who trust in you at all times 

need no further convincing, 

no sign to persuade us—

 

we know you and 

your steadfast 

love.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9

2 Sam. 7:1-17

Acts 18:1-11

Mark 8:11-21

 

Selected Verses 

Ps. 62:8 

Trust in him at all times, O people; 
          pour out your heart before him; 
          God is a refuge for us.              Selah 

 

2 Sam. 7:4-5 

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 

 

Acts 18:4 

Every sabbath [Paul] would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks. 

 

Mark 8:12 

And [Jesus] sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign?  Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

2 comments:

  1. Mea SententiaAugust 2, 2021 at 9:46 PM

    In gentle forms, arguments can be useful, I think. St Thomas Aquinas's Five Arguments for the existence of God have been helpful to me, though as hints rather than proofs. I have always lived by reason and faith.

    There is a negative kind of argument too, and I think that is what this post has in mind.

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  2. Elmer E. EwingAugust 5, 2021 at 11:56 PM

    Thank you for pointing this out. The title was misleading and requires more unwrapping than was contained in the meditation. I agree that arguments can be useful as hints, not proofs. Carl Jung, caught off guard when a clever TV interviewer inquired about his belief in God, stated that for him it was enough to know God. I believe that I experience God's compassionate presence, which gives me sympathy for Jung's statement--especially after he later expanded it by stating that God is a mystery beyond our comprehension. I celebrate the paradox of mystery and of God's compassionate presence in my life and in the lives of countless others. Yes, reason and faith: both have their place, and need not contradict each other.

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