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.

April 21, 2010

Meeting You

I. Readings
Psalms 99, 147:1-11, 9, 118
Exodus 19:16-25
Colossians 1:15-23
Matthew 3:13-17

II. Selections
Psalm 9:18
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

Exodus 19:17
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain.

Colossians 1:19
For in [his beloved Son] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…

Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

III. Meditation

When the needy are neglected,
when the poor perish of all hope,
you may seem very far from us.
How do we come to meet you?

Shall we stand at the foot of a mountain?
Perhaps, though it is better to learn from
the One in whom all your fullness was
pleased to dwell—your Son, the Beloved.

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