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.

By the Gift of Your Grace, Redemption--March 18, 2017


Jesus, you testified against the world,
that its works were evil, and that it
did not judge with justice,
and they hated you--
even your own brothers did. 
The orphan and the needy have
 no one to defend their rights;
they flee to you for refuge
from their enemies.
All we have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God;
only by the gift of your grace
do we find redemption.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 43; 149; 31; 143
Jer. 5:20-31
Rom. 3:19-31
John 7:1-13

Selected Verses
Ps. 143:9
Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;
          I have fled to you for refuge. 

Jer. 5:28b
They know no limits in deeds of wickedness;
          they do not judge with justice
the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper,
          and they do not defend the rights of the needy. 

Rom. 3:23-24
…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…

John 7:7
"…The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil.  …"  [Jesus to his brothers]

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