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.

God's Holiness, Mercy, and Love--April 24, 2013


Who would dare approach you, God?
You are holy; we are not.

Yet Jesus taught us to be merciful,
just as you are merciful.

In Christ we have the knowledge
of your mystery: holiness
and mercy and love.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 99; 147:1-11; 9; 118
Jer. 30:18-22
Col. 1:24-2:7
Luke 6:27-38

Selected Verses

Ps. 99:9
Extol the LORD our God,
          and worship at his holy mountain;
          for the LORD our God is holy.

Jer. 30:21
Their prince shall be one of their own,
          their ruler shall come from their midst;
I will bring him near, and he shall approach me,
          for who would otherwise dare to approach me?
                                                                                says the LORD.

Col. 2:2-3
I want [the hearts of those in Laodicea] to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Luke 6:36
"…Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  …"  [Jesus to his disciples]

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