◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 30 (My God I cried to you for help); 2 Kings 4:18-31 (Elisha and a grieving mother); 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (Poverty overflows in generosity) (New American Bible (Revised Edition))

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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 30

Psalm 30^[a]

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

¹A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple.^[b] Of David.

I

²I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up
    and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
³O Lord, my God,
    I cried out to you for help and you healed^[c] me.
⁴Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
    you let me live, from going down to the pit.^[d]^(A)

II

⁵Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
    give thanks to his holy memory.
⁶For his anger lasts but a moment;
    his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
    but at dawn there is rejoicing.

III

⁷Complacent,^[e] I once said,
    “I shall never be shaken.”
⁸Lord, you showed me favor,
    established for me mountains of virtue.
But when you hid your face
    I was struck with terror.^(B)
⁹To you, Lord, I cried out;
    with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
¹⁰^[f]“What gain is there from my lifeblood,
    from my going down to the grave?
Does dust give you thanks
    or declare your faithfulness?
¹¹Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me;
    Lord, be my helper.”

IV

¹²You changed my mourning into dancing;
    you took off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness.^(C)
¹³So that my glory may praise you
    and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
    forever will I give you thanks.

2 Kings 4:18-31

¹⁸and the child grew up healthy.^(A)

One day the boy went out to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹He said to his father, “My head! My head!” And his father said to the servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰The servant picked him up and carried him to his mother; he sat in her lap until noon, and then died. ²¹She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Closing the door on him, she went out ²²and called to her husband, “Let me have one of the servants and a donkey. I must go quickly to the man of God, and I will be back.” ²³He asked, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath.” But she said, “It is all right.” ²⁴When the donkey was saddled, she said to her servant, “Lead on! Do not stop my donkey unless I tell you.” ²⁵She kept going till she reached the man of God on Mount Carmel. When he saw her at a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi: “There is the Shunammite! ²⁶Hurry to meet her, and ask if everything is all right with her, with her husband, and with the boy.” “Everything is all right,” she replied. ²⁷But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said: “Let her alone, she is in bitter anguish; the Lord hid it from me and did not let me know.” ²⁸She said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not mislead me’?” ²⁹He said to Gehazi, “Get ready for a journey. Take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, give no greeting,^[a] and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy.” ³⁰But the boy’s mother cried out: “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you.” So he started back with her.

³¹Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound, no response. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

2 Corinthians 8:1-7

III. The Collection for Jerusalem^[a]

Chapter 8

Generosity in Giving. ¹^[b]We want you to know, brothers,^[c] of the grace of God^[d] that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,^(A) ²^[e]for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³^[f]For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously, ⁴they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part in the service to the holy ones,^(B) ⁵and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us^[g] through the will of God, ⁶so that we urged Titus^[h] that, as he had already begun, he should also complete for you this gracious act also.^(C) ⁷^[i]Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,^(D) may you excel in this gracious act also.

Footnotes

8:1–9:15 Paul turns to a new topic, the collection for the church in Jerusalem. There is an early precedent for this project in the agreement mentioned in Gal 2:6–10. According to Acts, the church at Antioch had sent Saul and Barnabas to Jerusalem with relief (Acts 11:27–30). Subsequently Paul organized a project of relief for Jerusalem among his own churches. Our earliest evidence for it comes in 1 Cor 16:1–4—after it had already begun (see notes there); by the time Paul wrote Rom 15:25–28 the collection was completed and ready for delivery. 2 Cor 8–9 contain what appear to be two letters on the subject. In them Paul gives us his fullest exposition of the meaning he sees in the enterprise, presenting it as an act of Christian charity and as an expression of the unity of the church, both present and eschatological. These chapters are especially rich in the recurrence of key words, on which Paul plays; it is usually impossible to do justice to these wordplays in the translation.
8:1–24 This is a letter of recommendation for Titus and two unnamed companions, written from Macedonia probably at least a year later than 1 Cor 16. The recommendation proper is prefaced by remarks about the ideals of sharing and equality within the Christian community (2 Cor 8:1–15). Phil 4:10–20 shows that Paul has reflected on his personal experience of need and relief in his relations with the community at Philippi; he now develops his reflections on the larger scale of relations between his Gentile churches and the mother church in Jerusalem.
8:1–5 The example of the Macedonians, a model of what ought to be happening at Corinth, provides Paul with the occasion for expounding his theology of “giving.”
8:1 The grace of God: the fundamental theme is expressed by the Greek noun charis, which will be variously translated throughout these chapters as “grace” (2 Cor 8:1; 9:8, 14), “favor” (2 Cor 8:4), “gracious act” (2 Cor 8:6, 7, 9) or “gracious work” (2 Cor 8:19), to be compared to “gracious gift” (1 Cor 16:3). The related term, eucharistia, “thanksgiving,” also occurs at 2 Cor 9:11, 12. The wordplay is not superficial; various mutations of the same root signal inner connection between aspects of a single reality, and Paul consciously exploits the similarities in vocabulary to highlight that connection.
8:2 Three more terms are now introduced. Test (dokimē): the same root is translated as “to test” (2 Cor 8:8) and “evidence” (2 Cor 9:13); it means to be tried and found genuine. Abundance: variations on the same root lie behind “overflow” (2 Cor 8:2; 9:12), “excel” (2 Cor 8:7), “surplus” (2 Cor 8:14), “superfluous” (2 Cor 9:1) “make abundant” and “have an abundance” (2 Cor 9:8). These expressions of fullness contrast with references to need (2 Cor 8:14; 9:12). Generosity: the word haplotēs has nuances of both simplicity and sincerity; here and in 2 Cor 9:11, 13 it designates the singleness of purpose that manifests itself in generous giving.
8:3–4 Paul emphasizes the spontaneity of the Macedonians and the nature of their action. They begged us insistently: the same root is translated as “urge,” “appeal,” “encourage” (2 Cor 8:6, 17; 9:5). Taking part: the same word is translated “contribution” in 2 Cor 9:13 and a related term as “partner” in 2 Cor 8:23. Service (diakonia): this word occurs also in 2 Cor 9:1, 13 as “service”; in 2 Cor 9:12 it is translated “administration,” and in 2 Cor 8:19, 20 the corresponding verb is rendered “administer.”
8:5 They gave themselves…to the Lord and to us: on its deepest level their attitude is one of self-giving.
8:6 Titus: 1 Cor 16 seemed to leave the organization up to the Corinthians, but apparently Paul has sent Titus to initiate the collection as well; 2 Cor 8:16–17 will describe Titus’ attitude as one of shared concern and cooperation.
8:7 The charitable service Paul is promoting is seen briefly and in passing within the perspective of Paul’s theology of the charisms. Earnestness (spoudē): this or related terms occur also in 2 Cor 8:22 (“earnest”) and 2 Cor 8:8, 16, 17 (“concern”).

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 (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 30^[a]

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

I

II

III

IV

Footnotes

Cross references

Footnotes

Cross references

III. The Collection for Jerusalem^[a]

Chapter 8

Footnotes

Cross references

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 30[a]

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

I

II

III

IV

Footnotes

Cross references

Footnotes

Cross references

III. The Collection for Jerusalem[a]

Chapter 8

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 30^[a]

III. The Collection for Jerusalem^[a]