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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 130

Psalm 130^[a]

Prayer for Pardon and Peace

¹A song of ascents.

Out of the depths^[b] I cry to you, O Lord;
²    O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cries of supplication.^[c]
³If you, O Lord, kept a record of our sins,
    O Lord, who could stand^[d] upright?
⁴But with you there is forgiveness
    so that you may be revered.^[e]
⁵I wait for the Lord^[f] in anxious expectation;
    I place my hope in his word.
⁶My soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the dawn.
More than watchmen wait for the dawn^[g]
⁷^[h]let Israel wait for the Lord.
For with the Lord there is kindness,
    as well as plenteous redemption.
⁸He alone will redeem Israel
    from all its sins.

Footnotes

Psalm 130:1 This is the sixth of the seven Penitential Psalms (see Ps 6) and perhaps the psalm that has been most often recited down the centuries since the time when it became an invocation on behalf of the dead. It is both a prayer of sorrow and a hymn of hope. No other psalm reveals in so marvelous a way the mystery of God who forgives, reconciles, and redeems even those who abandon him. While wonderfully suitable for the deceased, it also befits anyone in the depths of sadness (e.g., Israel), for it makes hope rise for them like the dawn.
Because of the lofty plane on which it moves, this psalm does not need a transformation but only a greater profundity to become a Christian prayer. The parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates this perfectly (Lk 15).
Psalm 130:1 Depths: a metaphor of adversity (see Ps 69:2f, 15; Isa 51:10; Ezek 27:34), connoting alienation from God (see Jon 2:2-5) and approaching death.
Psalm 130:2 In his extremity, the psalmist appeals to the Lord, calling him by his proper name and so obliging him to answer his prayers and intervene. Although the reason for the distress is not indicated here, the petition implies that it is related to sin, and the next verse makes this point explicit.
Psalm 130:3 The unfortunate psalmist is well aware that the nature of his trouble is different from the depression of illness, homesickness, or persecution seen in some other psalms (e.g., Pss 6; 42; 69). It is guilt for sin, an evil that can cease only if God puts an end to the sins that cause the evil. Unless God granted pardon, no one could stand, i.e., pass through his judgment (see Ps 1:5) or enjoy the benefits of his presence (see Ps 24:3).
Psalm 130:4 God is full of forgiveness (see Dan 9:9; see also Pss 86:5; 103:3; Ex 34:7; 1 Jn 2:1f). And he is feared not only because of his great judgment and chastisement but also because of his great love in forgiving. The righteous respond with love and holy fear (see Deut 5:29; 1 Pet 1:17) as well as the desire not to offend him in the future (see Rom 2:4).
Psalm 130:5 After noting that God liberally dispenses pardon, the psalmist expresses in splendid phrases his desire (indeed his certitude) of seeing God come close to him soon to grant him pardon. The words I wait for the Lord indicate that the psalmist ardently desires God and seeks to draw near to him with all his might. In patient waiting, faith looks up to the Lord to grant his grace (see Lam 3:25f). In anxious expectation: literally, “My soul waits”: see note on Ps 6:4. His word: especially his covenant promises (see Pss 119:25, 28, 37, 42, 49, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147) and his word of pardon.
Psalm 130:6 The psalmist waits for the Lord with much greater anticipation and certitude than watchmen wait for the dawn when they will be relieved of duty after guarding the city from night attacks (see Ps 127:1). More than watchmen wait for the dawn: by this twofold repetition after a fourfold expression of “hope” in the Lord, the psalmist succeeds in inculcating a true sense of longing, dependence, and assurance.
Psalm 130:7 Like the psalmist, crushed by miseries, Israel must also hope and wait for the Lord. Rich in grace (compassionate and saving love) and redemption (pardon), God will redeem Israel from all temporal and spiritual miseries; he will deliver the people from all their misfortunes and sins as he delivered them from Egypt once before. The word redemption, at first applied to the deliverance from slavery in Egypt (see Ex 12:27), later designates every type of liberation, every form of salvation (see Pss 25:20; 31:5; 44:27; Isa 43:14); here it signifies the profound liberation effected by the forgiveness of sins. The New Testament uses the word in the same sense—the redemption wrought by Christ (see Lk 2:38; Rom 3:24; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Rev 5:9). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.

2 Chronicles 30:13-27

¹³The Passover Celebrated. A huge crowd gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴They began their work by removing the altars that were in Jerusalem. Then they removed all the altars of incense and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵On the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. Meanwhile, the priests and the Levites were ashamed; after they consecrated themselves, they brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. ¹⁶Then they took their accustomed places according to the law of Moses, the man of God, while the priests sprinkled the blood that they had received from the Levites.

¹⁷Since many people in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lambs for them to the Lord.^[a] ¹⁸For a large number of people, mainly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, but even so they ate the Passover contrary to what was prescribed.

However, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the good Lord grant pardon ¹⁹to all those who are determined to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they have not been purified as holiness requires.” ²⁰The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹With great rejoicing the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, while the Levites and the priests day after day praised the Lord with all their strength. ²²Hezekiah then spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves to be well skilled in the service of the Lord. During the seven days of the festival the people consumed their assigned portion of food, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

²³Then the entire assembly agreed to continue the festival for another seven days, and they did so with joyous celebration. ²⁴Hezekiah, the king of Judah, contributed to the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, while the priests sanctified themselves in great numbers. ²⁵The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and the Levites and the resident aliens who had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens who dwelt in Judah. ²⁶There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of King David of Israel, nothing of this magnitude had been seen in Jerusalem. ²⁷Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voices were heard by God when their prayer reached his holy dwelling in heaven.

Mark 2:1-12

First Oppositions^[a]

Chapter 2

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man. ¹When Jesus returned some days later to Capernaum, the word quickly spread that he was at home. ²Such large multitudes gathered there that no longer was any space available, even in front of the door, and he was preaching the word to them.

³Some people arrived, bringing to him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. ⁴Since they were unable to bring him near Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above him and then lowered the bed on which the paralyzed man was lying.

⁵On perceiving their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶Now some scribes^[b] were sitting there, thinking to themselves: ⁷“How can this man say such things? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸Jesus was able immediately to discern in his spirit what they were thinking, and he asked, “Why do you entertain such thoughts in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say: ‘Stand up, take your mat, and walk’? ¹⁰But that you may come to realize that the Son of Man^[c] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man— ¹¹“I say to you, stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” ¹²The man stood up, immediately picked up his bed, and went off in full view of all of them. The onlookers were all astonished and they glorified God, saying, “We have never before witnessed anything like this.”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 130[a]

Prayer for Pardon and Peace

Footnotes

Footnotes

First Oppositions[a]

Chapter 2

Footnotes

Psalm 130^[a]

First Oppositions^[a]