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.

To Live as Your Beloved Children--May 13, 2016


Lord Jesus Christ, you came
to call not the righteous but sinners.
We bless your name and sing your praise;
forgive our iniquity, remember our sin no more.
As you loved us, as in love you gave yourself up for us,
help us imitate your love and live as your beloved children.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 96; 148; 49; 138
Jer. 31:27-34
Eph. 5:1-32
Matt. 9:9-17
       
Selected Verses
Ps. 96:2
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
          tell of his salvation from day to day. 

Jer. 31:34
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Eph. 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Matt. 9:13
“…Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” [Jesus, in reply to critics who asked why he ate with tax collecters and sinners]

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