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 Love, Forever--May 29, 2020


Your steadfast love endures forever, O God.
You know what will happen in days to come;
you know, but we do not.

We do know that days will come
when we will mourn those taken away,
and that some day we will be taken,
while others mourn.

Show us, then, how to live wisely,
making the most of our time,
trusting you not to forsake
the work of your hands,

trusting in Christ
that you will fulfill
your purpose for us,
and that your love
endures forever.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 96; 148; 49; 138
Jer. 31:27-34
Eph. 5:1-32
Matt. 9:9-17

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
          your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
          Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Jer. 31:31
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Eph. 5:15-16
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

Matt. 9:15
And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.  …”

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