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.

As You Have Had Mercy on Us--June 19, 2020


Merciful and forgiving God,

we are a people willing to use our might
to overwhelm and overcome the weak,
that we may have our way with them.

When we show little mercy to others,
how can we expect mercy from you?

Your faithfulness is not nullified
by our lack of it; have mercy,
blot out our transgressions,
help us amend our ways.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 51; 148; 142; 65
Num. 13:1-3, 21-30
Rom. 2:25-3:8
Matt. 18:21-35

Selected Verses
Ps. 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God,
          according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
          blot out my transgressions.

Num. 13:30
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Rom. 3:3
What if some were unfaithful?  Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

Matt. 18:33
“‘…Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'  …”  [Jesus, quoting the king’s answer to the unforgiving slave, in response to Peter’s question]

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