◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 126 (Sowing with tears reaping with joy); Jeremiah 29:24-32 (A false prophet exposed by Jeremiah); Mark 8:22-26 (Jesus heals a blind man) (New Catholic Bible)

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October 28, 1967

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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 126

Psalm 126^[a]

God, Our Joy and Our Hope

¹^[b]A song of ascents.

When the Lord brought home the captives to Zion,
    we seemed to be dreaming.^[c]
²Our mouths were filled with laughter
    and our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”^[d]
³The Lord has indeed done great deeds for us,
    and we are overflowing with joy.^[e]
⁴^[f]Once again restore our fortunes,^[g] O Lord,
    as you did for the streams in the Negeb.
⁵Those who sow in tears^[h]
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶Those who go forth weeping,
    carrying the seeds to be sown,^[i]
will return with shouts of joy,
    carrying their sheaves.

Footnotes

Psalm 126:1 The Jewish community takes pains to be reestablished. But joy fills the people’s hearts. They still resound with the gladness and hope of the caravans returning from the Exile, and every pilgrimage unfolds like a new Exodus (vv. 1-3; see Isa 48:21), a return from the Exile. It is also faith in an even more wondrous future, the gathering together of all by the side of the Messiah. Such happiness is prepared for in the suffering of the present just as the harvest grows out of the grain sown into the earth where it dies (see Jn 12:24; Rom 8:8-25; 1 Cor 15:35-49).
In praying this psalm, we can also be mindful of the wondrous spiritual salvation of sinners worked by Christ in accord with the will of the Father. This salvation constitutes a spiritual Exodus from the sinful world to the divine dwelling of the earthly Church and then of the heavenly Church, a transferral from satanic tyranny to the gentle yoke of Christ and then of the heavenly Father, a conversion from infidelity to fidelity toward Christ and his Father. Such are the wonders that God has worked radically for all in causing Christ to pass from the grave to heaven, from death to glorious life (see Eph 4:8), and that he works effectively for every believer who shares in this mystery through faith (see Jn 5:24).
Psalm 126:1 The edict of the Persian King Cyrus the Great in 538 B.C. that permitted the exiles to return home was totally unexpected despite the oracles issued by Isaiah and Jeremiah. The long period of the captivity had caused many to give up hope. Hence, the joy of their deliverance was indescribable. The Gentiles, too, were impressed by this event; for many nations in the ancient Near East had vanished owing to conquest and exile, and the conventional wisdom was that little Israel would suffer the same fate. When this proved not to be the case, the People of God acknowledged that it was the Lord who had done great things for them.
Psalm 126:1 The restoration of the captives to Zion took place in 538 B.C., in fulfillment of the prophetic word (see Isa 14:1f; 44:24—45:25; 48:20f; Jer 29:14; 30:3; 33:7, 10f; Am 9:14). However, when the actual moment came, it felt like a mirage. When the Lord . . . dreaming: another translation is: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, / we were like men restored to health.”
Psalm 126:2 So great was the act of restoration and the joy of the people that the nations heard about it too (see Ps 98:2; Isa 52:10; Ezek 36:36) and praised the Lord (see note on Ps 46:10).
Psalm 126:3 The psalmist affirms that the Lord has done great things for the people, and they are filled with joy. We Christians can use this verse in our own right to declare the manifold blessings bestowed on us in Christ, especially his Resurrection, which turned the disciples’ sorrow into joy and brought salvation to the world that had previously been in bondage to the devil.
Psalm 126:4 The reality of life in Canaan soon tempered the joy of the repatriates, for they had to eke out an existence in the land that had remained untended for years. So the people cry out to God for a continuation of the restoration: restoration of their well-being in the land (fortunes; see Ps 14:7). And they are assured of God’s continued fidelity to his promise.
Psalm 126:4 The repatriates, disappointed by the limited fulfillment of the prophetic word, turn to the Lord. They beg him to grant them a complete restoration and give them a brighter future even if to do so he has to perform a miracle like creating streams in the Negeb. Restore our fortunes: another possible translation is: “Bring back our people from captivity.” No matter what the text, the prayer is one for a better future. Streams in the Negeb: the wadis of southern Palestine, almost always dry, are suddenly filled by the winter rains and fertilize the earth (see 2 Ki 3:20; Isa 41:18), representing proverbially the sudden coming of God’s blessing.
Psalm 126:5 God will be true to his promise, but the people must also do their part—they must sow the seed in order to have a harvest. God will turn the people’s tears into songs of joy by blessing them in their various endeavors and rewarding their laborious toil.
Psalm 126:6 The psalm concludes on the expectation of another miracle to take place; the people will return with shouts of joy because of the plentiful harvest. The time of exile was like a sowing of tears; it was a time of penance. The time of the harvest has not yet come. But as certainly as in nature the harvest follows upon seeding, so certain is it that a time of joy will follow for God’s people. Thus, the psalm attests to the certainty of the Lord’s promise. Seeds to be sown: “Previously the seed had not sprouted, and the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, had borne no fruit. From this day forward I intend to bless you” (Hag 2:19).

Jeremiah 29:24-32

²⁴Prophecy of Shemaiah. Address these words to Shemaiah the Nehelamite. ²⁵“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Acting on your own authority, you have sent a letter to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests ²⁶asserting that the Lord has appointed you as priest in place of Jehoiada, and that you are to appoint officers to be in charge of the Lord’s house and place any madman into the stocks or the pillory who poses as a prophet. ²⁷Why then have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has even sent us a message in Babylon, saying, ‘It will be a long time. Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’ ”

²⁹When the priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah, ³⁰the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ³¹“Send this message to all of the exiles. ‘Thus says the Lord in regard to Shemaiah of Nehelam, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you even though I did not send him to do so, and has led you to place your trust in false prophecies, ³²therefore, says the Lord, I intend to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. None of them will survive among this people to witness the happiness that I will bestow on my people, says the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.” ’ ”

Mark 8:22-26

²²Jesus Heals a Blind Man.^[a] They arrived at Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged that he touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then, putting saliva on his eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything?” ²⁴Looking up, the man responded, “I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.” ²⁵Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and the man looked around intently. His sight was restored, and he was able to see everything clearly. ²⁶Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 126[a]

God, Our Joy and Our Hope

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 126^[a]