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.

Prepared for Those who Love You--Oct. 5, 2014


We bless your name, O God, for you crown
us with steadfast love and mercy--
though our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.

We know that Jesus must have grieved deeply
over the news of John's execution,
but what you prepare for those who love you
eye has not seen, ear has not heard.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 103; 150; 117; 139
Hosea 5:8-6:6
1 Cor. 2:6-16
Matt. 14:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 103:1, 4
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
          and all that is within me,
          bless his holy name.
…who redeems your life from the Pit,
          who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy…

Hosea 6:4
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
            What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
            like the dew that goes away early.

1 Cor. 2:9
But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" …

Matt. 14:12
[John's] disciples came and took [his] body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

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