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.

Are You among Us, O God?--Apr. 9, 2016


God Most High, are you among us or not—
among us even when we quarrel and test you?
Or only when we are hospitable to one another,
without complaining, and maintain constant love?

Teach us, Lord God, the joy of singing your praise and
of giving you thanks, as in the morning we declare
your steadfast love, and by night declare your
faithfulness. To make our joy complete,
teach us to ask, that we may receive.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 92; 149; 23; 114
Exod. 17:1-16
1 Peter 4:7-19
John 16:16-33

Selected Verses
Ps. 92:1-2
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
          to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
          and your faithfulness by night…  

Exod. 17:7
[Moses] called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

1 Peter 4:8-9
Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.  Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

John 16:24b
Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

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