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.

O God, When No One Listens--March 19, 2014


God, sometimes no one listens to my words;
no one pays attention to my sighing.

Sometimes I even blame you for not listening
or caring how deep my sorrows are.

Worse, I blame you for my troubles--at least for
not helping me to chase them away.

In such times, remind me, dear God--it is I
who have not been listening to you.

I am rocky ground; I haven't let your seeds
take root in me to survive hardship.

In the name of Jesus Christ and in your Spirit,
wash, sanctify, and justify me, O God.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51
Gen. 42:18-28
1 Cor. 5:9-6:11
Mark 4:1-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 5:1
Give ear to my words, O LORD;
          give heed to my sighing.

Gen. 42:28b
At this [Joseph's older brothers] lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

1 Cor. 6:11b
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Mark 4:17
"…But [plants grown from seeds sown on rocky ground] have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  …"  [Jesus explaining the parable of the sower to his disciples]

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