◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 148 (God’s splendor is over earth and heaven); Exodus 33:18-23 (Moses asks to see God’s glory); 1 John 1:1-9 (The word of life was revealed) (New Catholic Bible)

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December 27, 2023

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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 148

Psalm 148^[a]

Song of the Universe

¹^[b]Alleluia.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    offer praise to him in the heights!
²Praise him, all his angels;
    offer praise to him, all his hosts!^[c]
³Praise him, sun and moon;
    offer praise to him, all you shining stars!
⁴Praise him, you highest heavens,^[d]
    and you waters above the heavens.
⁵Let them praise the name^[e] of the Lord,
    for it was at his command that they were created.
⁶He established them in place forever and ever;
    he issued a law that will never pass away.^[f]
⁷^[g]Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and ocean depths,
⁸fire and hail, snow and clouds,
    storm winds that carry out his word,^[h]
⁹all mountains and hills,
    all fruit trees and cedars,
¹⁰wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping creatures and flying birds,^[i]
¹¹kings of the earth and all nations,
    princes and all rulers on the earth,
¹²young men and women,
    the elderly, as well as children.^[j]
¹³^[k]Let them all praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his majesty is above the earth and the heavens.^[l]
¹⁴He has raised high a horn^[m] for his people,
    to the glory of all his saints,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Alleluia.

Footnotes

Psalm 148:1 The exiles have returned home, the temple has been rebuilt, and its precincts have been restored. God has reestablished the people he loves. What a testament to his glory (vv. 13-14). Joy invades all hearts and expands to worldwide dimensions. The whole universe and all earthly creatures are invited to praise the Lord, the Creator and Redeemer. This theme also permeates the next two psalms, forming the conclusion and the synthesis of the Psalter.
We can pray this psalm to exhort all creation, both animate and inanimate, to praise the Triune God not only as the Creator but also as the Savior and Sanctifier. For although all creation is presently subject to vanity, it hopes to be freed from corruption so as to enter into the freedom of God’s children, when God will transform the universe with a new heaven and a new earth (see Rom 8:19-22; Rev 21:1-5). May the angels and saints of heaven do likewise.
Psalm 148:1 The psalmist calls upon all creatures in the heavens to praise the Lord because of his creative and redeeming acts.
Psalm 148:2 See Ps 103:20f; Job 38:7.
Psalm 148:4 See Gen 1:6f; 1 Ki 8:27; 2 Cor 12:2; Eph 4:10. Highest heavens: literally, “the heavens of the heavens,” i.e., the space above the “expanse,” which separated the “waters above” from the “waters below” (see Ps 104:3, 13; Gen 1:6f).
Psalm 148:5 Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 148:6 See Jer 31:35f.
Psalm 148:7 The psalmist now calls upon all creatures on earth to praise the Lord: sea creatures, depths, the powers of nature, mountains and hills, fruit trees and the cedars, animals and birds, and finally all human beings, including the powerful as well as the young and old.
Psalm 148:8 Carry out his word: i.e., “do his bidding” (see Ps 147:15).
Psalm 148:10 See Gen 1:21, 24f; Isa 43:20.
Psalm 148:12 See Jer 31:13.
Psalm 148:13 The psalmist gives the reasons behind the praise: God is the exalted Ruler, who is not subject to the limitations of the earth or the heavens, and he has unique concern for his people, i.e., those devoted to him, his saints.
Psalm 148:13 See Pss 108:5; 113:2-4.
Psalm 148:14 Horn: i.e., the Lord’s anointed (see note on Ps 18:3; see also Ps 2:2); it may also refer to the strength and power of God’s people (see Ps 92:11; 1 Sam 2:1; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:17). Saints: see notes on Pss 4:3; 34:10.

Exodus 33:18-23

¹⁸So Moses said to him, “Show me your glory!”

¹⁹He answered, “I will make all my splendor pass in front of you and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, before you. I will show favor to those to whom I show favor and I will have mercy on those on whom I have mercy.” ²⁰He continued, “But you cannot see my face, for no one can see my face and live.” ²¹And the Lord continued, “There is a place near me. You will stand upon the rock. ²²When my glory passes by, I will place you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I will have passed by. ²³Then I will take away my hand and you will see my back, but you cannot see my face.”

1 John 1:1-9

Chapter 1

Prologue^[a]

An Authentic Communion of Life

¹This is what we proclaim to you:
what existed from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our own eyes,
what we have looked at
and touched with our hands—
we are speaking of the Word of life.^[b]
²That life was made visible;
we have seen it and bear witness,
proclaiming to you the eternal life^[c]
that was with the Father
and was revealed to us.
³What we have seen and heard
we declare to you
so that you may have fellowship^[d] with us.
For our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
⁴We are writing this
so that our joy may be complete.

Walk in the Light

God Is Light^[e]

⁵This is the message
that we have heard from him
and that we declare to you:
God is light,
and there is no darkness^[f] at all in him.
⁶If we claim that we have fellowship with him
while we continue to live in darkness,
we are lying and do not live in the truth.
⁷However, if we live in the light
as he himself is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son
purifies us from all sin.

Deliverance from Sin^[g]

⁸If we claim that we are sinless,
we are only deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
⁹However, if we confess our sins,
he who is faithful and just
will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all wrongdoing.

Footnotes

1 John 1:1 An identical movement of life is transmitted from the Father to the Son, from the Son to his witnesses, and from his witnesses to believers. And the authenticity of this sharing is guaranteed by the real contact of the witnesses with the Son of God, the Word of Life (see Jn 1:1), the Messiah who is truly man. The Christian faith starts from a fact, an event, an experience. Thus, everything appears as a movement from God and a striving toward him, a fellowship of life. Without such an insertion in the bonds of the Church and this link with a real testimony, it would be vain speculation.
This Prologue deals with the same themes and makes use of the same words as the Prologue to John’s Gospel (beginning, Word, life).
1 John 1:1 The Word of God was the source of life (see Deut 4:1; 32:47; Mt 4:4; Phil 2:16). John gives the title “Word” to the Son of God become man with whom the Apostles lived. Thus, they became eyewitnesses of his glory. They touched him and knew he was real. They heard him with their ears as he spoke the words of life. Everything they preached and wrote about him was based on fact.
1 John 1:2 That life . . . the eternal life: i.e., Christ. He is called “life” because he is the living one who has life in himself (see Jn 11:25; 14:6). He is also the source of life and sovereign over life (1 Jn 5:11). This Letter begins and concludes (1 Jn 5:11) with the theme of eternal life.
1 John 1:3 Fellowship (or communion): the word expresses one of the most important themes in Johannine mysticism: the unity of the Christian community, based on the oneness of each believer with God in Christ. This unity is described in the figures of the vine and the branches (see Jn 15:1-5) and the body and the head (see 1 Cor 12:12; Col 1:18). It also finds expression in various formulations: Christians “abide in God and God in them”; “they are born of God”; “they belong to God”; “they know God.” Such a union with God is manifested in faith and fraternal love.
1 John 1:5 There is no fellowship with God in the absence of faith or love. Christians do not achieve fellowship with God the Light (see Jn 8:12) by giving themselves over to Illuminism or by some magical rite; they do so by believing in the Redemption brought about by Christ’s Passion and by living in the truth (see Jn 3:31), i.e., by entering into a life experience that keeps the commandments of the Gospel in a concrete manner.
1 John 1:5 Light . . . darkness: light represents all that is good, true, and holy, whereas darkness stands for all that is evil and false (see Jn 3:19-21).
1 John 1:8 Christians do not live in some superior spiritual sphere far removed from our daily lives on earth. We must in all honesty acknowledge that sin is present in our lives with all its weight. If we do not do so, we oppose the whole experience attested by Scripture and render insignificant the voluntary sacrifice that Christ made of himself so that human beings might have life. Deliverance from sin is obtained not by evasion but by the act of God who forgives and justifies us in the very depths of our being.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 148[a]

Song of the Universe

Footnotes

Chapter 1

Prologue[a]

An Authentic Communion of Life

Walk in the Light

God Is Light[e]

Deliverance from Sin[g]

Footnotes

Psalm 148^[a]

Prologue^[a]

God Is Light^[e]

Deliverance from Sin^[g]