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.

Your Body, Joined and Knit Together--Jan. 2, 2018


Lord Jesus, you keep faith forever,
executing justice for the oppressed,
giving food to the hungry.
Lest the journey be too much for us,
you call us to get up and eat,
and you feed us as much as we want.
May what we eat build us up in love,
joined and knit together into your body.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 48; 146; 9; 29
1 Kings 19:1-8
Eph. 4:1-16
John 6:1-14

Selected Verses
Ps. 146:6b-7a
 who keeps faith forever;
          who executes justice for the oppressed;
          who gives food to the hungry.

1 Kings 19:7
The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched [Elijah], and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you."

Eph. 4:15-16
But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

John 6:11
Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 

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