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.

Living by the Law--Sept. 28, 2016


Lord Jesus, you lifted up the downtrodden
and were not afraid to eat with sinners;
in fact, you seemed to prefer their company
to that of the upright and well behaved.

You remind us that God loves us even when
we are fickle and turn to other gods.
We like it when you forgive us, but not when
you forgive others who break the rules.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 96; 147:1-11; 132; 134
Hosea 3:1-5
Acts 21:15-26
Luke 5:27-39
           
Selected Verses
Ps. 147:6
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
          he casts the wicked to the ground.

Hosea 3:1
The LORD said to me again, "Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."

Acts 21:20-21
When [the elders] heard [about Paul's ministry to the Gentiles], they praised God.  Then they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law.  They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs.  …"

Luke 5:31-32
Jesus answered [the complainers], "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance."

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