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.

We Know Only in Part--Nov. 4, 2012

 
How weighty are your thoughts, O God;
how vast is the sum of them.

Now we know only in part; in very small
part do we understand you.

Yet we must not turn back from seeking you,
inquiring of you, following you.

And this much we know, you have forgiven us;
help us persist in forgiving others.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 103; 150; 117; 139

 Zeph. 1:1-6

1 Cor.12:27-13:13

Matt. 18:21-35

Selected Verses

Ps. 139:17

 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
          How vast is the sum of them!

Zeph. 1:6
…those who have turned back from following the LORD,
            who have not sought the LORD or inquired of him.

1 Cor. 13:12b
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Matt. 18:21
Then Peter came and said to [Jesus], "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.  …"
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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