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.

When We Live on Rocky Ground--Feb. 24, 2016


Jesus, we live on rocky ground, and we have no root;
for a while we endure, but then trouble comes or
we are wronged or defrauded, and we cry:
What is this that God has done to us?
We lose heart, and we fall away.
Teach us to grow roots,
even in the rocky soil,
and never to lose hope
in your steadfast love.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Gen. 42:18-28
1 Cor. 5:9-6:11
Mark 4:1-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 147:11
…but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
          in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Gen. 42:28
[The brother who opened his sack] said to his brothers, "My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!"  At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

1 Cor. 6:7
In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.  Why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be defrauded?

Mark 4:17
But [the seeds sown on rocky ground] have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 

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