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.

The Abundance of Your Steadfast Love--March 2, 2016


For the abundance of your steadfast love,
O God, we bow down in awe of you.
Sometimes your word perplexes us,
and we even quarrel along the way,
especially when we are puffed up
by the small amount of knowledge
that we have gained about you.
Instead, build us up in love.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Gen. 45:16-28
1 Cor. 8:1-13
Mark 6:13-29

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. 

Gen. 45:24
Then he sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Do not quarrel along the way."

1 Cor. 8:1b
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 

Mark 6:20b
When [Herod] heard [John the baptizer], he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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