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.

The Way to Living Water--March 16, 2019

[From March 7, 2009 archive;
 adapted from my journal
of March 15, 2003]

When I think about all your deeds,
meditate on the works of your hands,
when I remember the days of old,
then I understand words attributed
to Moses about blessings and curses.

I have not found it to be automatic:
a blessing for each act of obedience
and a curse for each time I disobey;
and my frequency of obedience pales
beside that of my disobedience;

yet when I have obeyed, it seems
there has been some kind of blessing,
however hidden, by which you show
me where we get your living water—
it is by way of reverent submission.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 43; 149; 31; 143
Deut. 11:18-28
Heb. 5:1-10
John 4:1-26

Selected Verses
Ps. 143:5
I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
            I meditate on the works of your hands.

Deut. 11:26-28a
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey  the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God…

Heb. 5:7
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

John 4:11
The [Samaritan] woman said to [Jesus], “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep.  Where do you get that living water?   

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