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 Plead Our Case--May 20, 2013


[from May 23, 2005 archive]

O LORD, in the morning you hear our voice;
in the morning we plead our case to you, and watch. 
Sometimes our pleading seems for naught; what we see
is tragedy and loss, even the death of those we love.

Is our suffering a sign that we are worse sinners
than others?  Surely it is not, even though we
have every reason to repent.  Teach us love
that comes from a pure heart, a good
conscience, and sincere faith—
we plead our case.

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 5; 145; 82; 29
Ruth 1:1-18
1 Tim. 1:1-17
Luke 13:1-9

Selected Verses

Ps. 5:3
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
            in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

Ruth 1:5
…both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

1 Tim. 1:5
But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

Luke 13:1-2
At that very time there were some present who told [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  …"

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