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.

When Good News Is Not Good--Oct. 18, 2013


 We have received the good news,
the good news in which we stand,
through which we are being saved.

The blind received their sight,
the lame and lepers were healed;
the deaf heard, the dead were raised;
and good news was brought to the poor.

Good news is of no value unless believed,
nor is good advice if it is not followed.
Our hope is in you, Lord Jesus--
in your great power
to redeem.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 130; 148; 32; 139
Jer. 38:14-28
1 Cor. 15:1-11
Matt. 11:1-6

Selected Verses

Ps. 130:7
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
          For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
          and with him is great power to redeem.

Jer. 38:15
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not?  And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

1 Cor. 15:1-2a
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved…

Matt. 11:4-5
Jesus answered [John's disciples], "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.  …"

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