◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Genesis 18:1-10a (The hospitality of Abraham and Sarah); Psalm 15 (Leading a blameless life); Colossians 1:15-28 (A hymn to Christ); Luke 10:38-42 (Choosing the better part) (New American Bible (Revised Edition))

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July 21, 1968

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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

Genesis 18:1-10

Chapter 18

Abraham’s Visitors. ¹^[a]The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. ²Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground,^(A) ³he said: “Sir,^[b] if it please you, do not go on past your servant. ⁴Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. ⁵Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” “Very well,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

⁶Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick, three measures^[c] of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.” ⁷He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. ⁸Then he got some curds^[d] and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate.

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. ¹⁰One of them^[e] said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.^(B)

Psalm 15

Psalm 15^[a]

The Righteous Israelite

¹^(A)A psalm of David.

I

Lord, who may abide in your tent?^[b]
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?

II

²Whoever walks without blame,^(B)
    doing what is right,
    speaking truth from the heart;
³Who does not slander with his tongue,
    does no harm to a friend,
    never defames a neighbor;
⁴Who disdains the wicked,
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
    Who keeps an oath despite the cost,
⁵    lends no money at interest,^[c]
    accepts no bribe against the innocent.^(C)

III

Whoever acts like this
shall never be shaken.

Colossians 1:15-28

II. The Preeminence of Christ

His Person and Work

¹⁵^[a]He is the image^[b] of the invisible God,
    the firstborn of all creation.^(A)
¹⁶For in him^[c] were created all things in heaven and on earth,
    the visible and the invisible,
    whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
    all things were created through him and for him.^(B)
¹⁷He is before all things,
    and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church.^[d]
    He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
    that in all things he himself might be preeminent.^(C)
¹⁹For in him all the fullness^[e] was pleased to dwell,
²⁰and through him to reconcile all things for him,
    making peace by the blood of his cross^[f]
    [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.^(D)

²¹^[g]And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds^(E) ²²he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, ²³provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.

Christ in Us.^[h] ²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking^[i] in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, ²⁵of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, ²⁶the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,^(F) ²⁷to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.^(G) ²⁸It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.^(H)

Footnotes

1:15–20 As the poetic arrangement indicates, these lines are probably an early Christian hymn, known to the Colossians and taken up into the letter from liturgical use (cf. Phil 2:6–11; 1 Tm 3:16). They present Christ as the mediator of creation (Col 1:15–18a) and of redemption (Col 1:18b–20). There is a parallelism between firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15) and firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18). While many of the phrases were at home in Greek philosophical use and even in gnosticism, the basic ideas also reflect Old Testament themes about Wisdom found in Prv 8:22–31; Wis 7:22–8:1; and Sir 1:4. See also notes on what is possibly a hymn in Jn 1:1–18.
1:15 Image: cf. Gn 1:27. Whereas the man and the woman were originally created in the image and likeness of God (see also Gn 1:26), Christ as image (2 Cor 4:4) of the invisible God (Jn 1:18) now shares this new nature in baptism with those redeemed (cf. Col 3:10–11).
1:16–17 Christ (though not mentioned by name) is preeminent and supreme as God’s agent in the creation of all things (cf. Jn 1:3), as prior to all things (Col 1:17; cf. Hb 1:3).
1:18 Church: such a reference seemingly belongs under “redemption” in the following lines, not under the “creation” section of the hymn. Stoic thought sometimes referred to the world as “the body of Zeus.” Pauline usage is to speak of the church as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12–27; Rom 12:4–5). Some think that the author of Colossians has inserted the reference to the church here so as to define “head of the body” in Paul’s customary way. See Col 1:24. Preeminent: when Christ was raised by God as firstborn from the dead (cf. Acts 26:23; Rev 1:5), he was placed over the community, the church, that he had brought into being, but he is also indicated as crown of the whole new creation, over all things. His further role is to reconcile all things (Col 1:20) for God or possibly “to himself.”
1:19 Fullness: in gnostic usage this term referred to a spiritual world of beings above, between God and the world; many later interpreters take it to refer to the fullness of the deity (Col 2:9); the reference could also be to the fullness of grace (cf. Jn 1:16).
1:20 The blood of his cross: the most specific reference in the hymn to redemption through Christ’s death, a central theme in Paul; cf. Col 2:14–15; 1 Cor 1:17, 18, 23. [Through him]: the phrase, lacking in some manuscripts, seems superfluous but parallels the reference to reconciliation through Christ earlier in the verse.
1:21–23 Paul, in applying this hymn to the Colossians, reminds them that they have experienced the reconciling effect of Christ’s death. He sees the effects of the cross in the redemption of human beings, not of cosmic powers such as those referred to in Col 1:16, 20 (all things). Paul also urges adherence to Christ in faith and begins to point to his own role as minister (Col 1:23), sufferer (Col 1:24), and proclaimer (Col 1:27–28) of this gospel.
1:24–2:3 As the community at Colossae was not personally known to Paul (see Introduction), he here invests his teaching with greater authority by presenting a brief sketch of his apostolic ministry and sufferings as they reflect those of Christ on behalf of the church (24). The preaching of God’s word (Col 1:25) carries out the divine plan (the mystery, Col 1:26) to make Christ known to the Gentiles (Col 1:27). It teaches the God-given wisdom about Christ (Col 1:28), whose power works mightily in the apostle (Col 1:29). Even in those communities that do not know him personally (Col 2:1), he can increase the perception of God in Christ, unite the faithful more firmly in love, and so bring encouragement to them (Col 2:2). He hopes that his apostolic authority will make the Colossians perceive more readily the defects in the teaching of others who have sought to delude them, the next concern in the letter.
1:24 What is lacking: although variously interpreted, this phrase does not imply that Christ’s atoning death on the cross was defective. It may refer to the apocalyptic concept of a quota of “messianic woes” to be endured before the end comes; cf. Mk 13:8, 19–20, 24 and the note on Mt 23:29–32. Others suggest that Paul’s mystical unity with Christ allowed him to call his own sufferings the afflictions of Christ.

Luke 10:38-42

³⁸^(A)As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. ³⁹^[a]She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. ⁴⁰Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” ⁴¹The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. ⁴²^[b]There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Chapter 18

Footnotes

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Psalm 15^[a]

The Righteous Israelite

I

II

III

Footnotes

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II. The Preeminence of Christ

His Person and Work

Footnotes

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Chapter 18

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 15[a]

The Righteous Israelite

I

II

III

Footnotes

Cross references

II. The Preeminence of Christ

His Person and Work

Footnotes

Cross references

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 15^[a]