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.


Imperishable Seed--April 17, 2012



Rulers of this world have no power over you;
why should we place our trust in them?
Horses and soldiers and chariots
were of no help to Pharaoh;
all went into the sea,
and all perished.
We trust in your
living, enduring word,
that we may be born anew
of imperishable, not perishable seed.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 98; 146; 66; 116
Exod. 15:1-21
1 Peter 1:13-25
John 14:18-31

Selected Verses
Ps. 146:3-4
Do not put your trust in princes,
      in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
      on that very day their plans perish.

Exod. 15:19
When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

1 Peter 1:23
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

John 14:30
"…I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me…" [Jesus to his disciples]

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