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.

Our Faithlessness, Your Faithfulness--March 6, 2015

[From March 13, 2009 archive] 

We seek after the glory that comes from one another;
but the only glory that matters is the glory that
comes from you, for you alone are God.

Although we might search our whole city
for one person who acts justly and seeks truth,
that you might pardon us, and fail to find even one,

yet you have not despised or abhorred the affliction of
the afflicted.  You have not hidden your face from
us; you have heard us when we cried to you.

You have given your Son--he is the worthy
one who acts justly, who seeks the truth.  By no
means does our faithlessness nullify your faithfulness.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 22; 148; 105; 130
Jer. 5:1-9
Rom. 2:25-3:18
John 5:30-47

Selected Verses
Ps. 22:24
For [the LORD] did not despise or abhor
          the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
          but heard when I cried to him.

Jer. 5:1
 Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
          look around and take note!
Search its squares and see
          if you can find one person
who acts justly
          and seeks truth--
so that I may pardon Jerusalem. 

Rom. 3:3-4a
What if some were unfaithful?  Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?  By no means!

John 5:44
"…How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?  …"  [Jesus to those who sought to kill him for calling God his Father]

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