◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 113 (Praise to God who lifts up the lowly); Genesis 25:19-28 (Rebekah bears Jacob and Esau); Colossians 1:15-20 (Jesus Christ the firstborn of creation) (New Catholic Bible)

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December 20, 2021

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 113

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118^[a]

Psalm 113^[b]

Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly

¹Alleluia.

Praise, you servants of the Lord,^[c]
    praise the name of the Lord.
²^[d]Blessed be the name of the Lord
    now and forevermore.
³From the rising of the sun to its setting
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.
⁴^[e]High is the Lord over all the nations,
    and supreme over the heavens is his glory.
⁵Who is like the Lord, our God,
    the one who is enthroned on high
and who stoops down to look
⁶    on the heavens and the earth?
⁷^[f]He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
⁸seating them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹He settles the barren woman^[g] in a home
    and makes her the joyful mother of children.
Alleluia.

Footnotes

Psalm 113:1 The Hallel (“praise”) psalms are found in three separate collections: the “Egyptian Hallel,” also known as the “Little Hallel” (Pss 113–118), the “Great Hallel” (Pss 120–136), and the “Concluding Hallel” (Pss 146–150). The Egyptian Hallel and the Great Hallel (most of which are pilgrimage psalms: Pss 120–134) were sung during the annual feasts (see Lev 23; Num 10:10). The Egyptian Hallel received a special place in the Passover liturgy; by custom Pss 113–114 were recited or sung before the festive meal and Pss 115–118 after it (see Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26). These were probably the last psalms Jesus sang before his Passion. Only the second (Ps 114) speaks directly of the Exodus, but the themes of the others make it an appropriate series to mark the salvation that began in Egypt and would spread to the nations. The concluding Hallel psalms (Pss 146–150) were incorporated into the daily prayers in the synagogue after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.
Psalm 113:1 This psalm presents a surprising contrast in the praises of Israel: the acclamation of the glory of the Almighty One attains its summit, and certitude becomes even stronger that God is near to the lowly. His tenderness reaches those whom the powerful of the earth regard as nothing. The God of justice reverses established situations, as both the canticle of Hannah (see 1 Sam 2:4-8) and the Magnificat of Mary (see Lk 1:46-55) attest with equal intensity. In celebrating the salvation of the humiliated poor man and the abandoned woman, Israel keeps alive the hope of a wondrous renewal in the Messianic age (see Pss 76; 87; Isa 49:21; 54:1-8).
In praying this psalm, we are aware that the New Testament provides us with new motives for praising God the Father for the great condescension he manifests toward Zechariah, Mary, and those known as the poor of Yahweh. We can also chant this psalm in honor of the glorified Christ. Exalted by his Father above every earthly power and introduced by him into divine glory (Phil 2:9-11; Heb 2:7-9), Christ shows himself to be incomparable by uniting to his supreme transcendence an astonishing condescension. It was toward the poor and lowly that he stooped during his public ministry, eating and drinking with them (see Mk 2:16), offering them the kingdom of God (see Mt 5:3-12) with its mysteries (see Mk 4:11), and making them the princes of his new people (see Mk 3:13-19). It is on the poor and the weak in the eyes of the world that he continues to confer his spiritual riches and powers (see 1 Cor 1:26-28).
Psalm 113:1 Servants of the Lord: the Lord’s loyal people, together with the priests and the Levites, come together to worship the Lord. These are all those who know “the name of the Lord” (v. 3; see Ps 50:1; Zep 2:11; Mal 1:11). Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 113:2 The name of the Lord is to be proclaimed so that every generation may remember what he has done and how he has revealed himself (see Ex 3:16). This praise is to extend in time (forevermore) and in space (from the rising of the sun to its setting, i.e., from the east to the west; see Mal 1:11).
Psalm 113:4 The psalmist calls attention to the contrast: the exalted rule of the Lord and his accommodation to the needs of his people. Over all the nations: and by implication over all their gods (see Pss 95:3; 96:4f; 97:9). Over the heavens: i.e., above all creation.
Psalm 113:7 The Lord does not ally himself with the high and mighty but takes care of the poor and needy by transforming them from outcasts of society (the dust, see Isa 47:1, or rubbish heap, see Lam 4:5) into those who have a position of prominence (with the princes of his people, v. 8; see 1 Sam 2:8; Job 36:7). The afflicted man will be accorded recognition, and the oppressed woman will be given honor.
Psalm 113:9 Barren woman: a barren wife was considered cursed by God and a social outcast, a disappointment to her husband, to other women, and especially to herself (see Gen 16:2; 20:18; 1 Sam 1:6; 2:5; Lk 1:25). The Lord blesses her with children (see Ps 115:14; Isa 48:19; 54:1-3). Alleluia: i.e., “Hallelujah” or “Bless [or praise] the Lord”; it probably was once the first line of Ps 114.

Genesis 25:19-28

Jacob, the Sinner Who Redeems Himself^[a]

Isaac’s Two Sons.^[b] These are the descendants of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. ²⁰Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, since she was barren. The Lord heard him, and thus his wife became pregnant. ²²The sons fought with each other in the womb, and she exclaimed, “If this is so, why go on living?” She went to consult the Lord. ²³The Lord answered her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided.
One shall be stronger than the other,
and the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵The firstborn was red and totally covered with hair. So he was named Esau. ²⁶Immediately afterward, his brother was born, holding on to the heel of Esau. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

²⁷The children grew up, and Esau became an expert hunter, a man who lived in the open country. Jacob, on the other hand, was a quiet man, who stayed among the tents. ²⁸Isaac loved Esau, for he enjoyed the taste of wild game, while Rebekah loved Jacob.

Colossians 1:15-20

The Supremacy of Christ

In Christ, through Him, and for Him^[a]

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
¹⁶For in him were created all things
in heaven and on earth,
whether visible or invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—
all things were created through him and for him.
¹⁷He exists before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
¹⁸He is the head of the body,
that is, the Church.
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that in every way
he should be supreme.
¹⁹For in him
it pleased God
to make all fullness dwell,^[b]
²⁰and through him
to reconcile all things for him,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through his blood of the cross.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118[a]

Psalm 113[b]

Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly

Footnotes

Jacob, the Sinner Who Redeems Himself[a]

Footnotes

The Supremacy of Christ

In Christ, through Him, and for Him[a]

Footnotes

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118^[a]

Psalm 113^[b]

Jacob, the Sinner Who Redeems Himself^[a]

In Christ, through Him, and for Him^[a]