◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 23 (My head anointed with oil); 1 Samuel 15:32-34 (Samuel grieves over Saul); John 1:1-9 (Christ comes with light and life) (New Catholic Bible)

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March 18, 2023

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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 23

Psalm 23^[a]

Prayer to the Good Shepherd

¹A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd;
    there is nothing I shall lack.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures;^[b]
    he leads me to tranquil streams.
³He restores my soul,^[c]
    guiding me in paths of righteousness
    so that his name may be glorified.
⁴Even though I wander
    through the valley of the shadow of death,^[d]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are at my side,
with your rod and your staff
    that comfort me.
⁵^[e]You spread a table for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;^[f]
    my cup overflows.
⁶Only goodness and kindness^[g] will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever and ever.

Footnotes

Psalm 23:1 This psalm is a profession of joyful trust in the Lord as the good Shepherd-King that has become one of the world’s greatest prayers. The image of God in shepherd’s garb has parallels in the Prophets (see Isa 40:11; Ezek 34:11-16) and will be the best known of the allegories in which Jesus speaks of himself (see Jn 10:11-18), so much so that the New Testament writers love to give him this title (see Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 2:25; Rev 7:17). The water, oil, and cup of wine of which the text speaks made Christians think of the Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. As a result, the psalm used to be sung during the Easter Vigil by the newly baptized, who were filled with the joy of God.
In praying this psalm, we can dwell on the fact that the heavenly Father’s love embraces us from eternity, preparing for us in Christ all kinds of spiritual blessings: election, adoption, redemption, incorporation into Christ (see Eph 1:3-14). He watches over us solicitously (see Mt 6:25-34) and follows us through the Good Shepherd who seeks out the straying sheep until he finds it again (see Lk 15).
Psalm 23:2 Green pastures: a symbol for everything that makes life flourish. Tranquil streams: literally, “waters of resting places,” waters that bring refreshment and well-being (see Isa 49:10).
Psalm 23:3 Restores my soul: the Lord revitalizes the psalmist’s spirit (see Ps 19:8; Ru 4:15; Prov 25:13; Lam 1:16). Paths of righteousness: paths that conform to the will of the Lord, the “right way.”
Psalm 23:4 Valley of the shadow of death: another possible translation is: “through the darkest valley.” It refers to any situation that is death-threatening.
Psalm 23:5 What was only a comparison used by the psalmist to indicate the happiness of those who dwell in the house of the Lord has become a wonderful reality in the New Covenant. God sets the table for all who as members of his Church seek rest and protection in the house of God during their pilgrimage. He gives them the Bread of Heaven and the cup of his love and the riches of his grace—Christ’s Precious Blood and the anointing of the Spirit with his sevenfold gifts.
Psalm 23:5 In the ancient Near East, covenants were frequently made at a meal (see Ps 41:10; Gen 31:54; Ob 7). Anoint my head with oil: reception customarily accorded to an honored guest at a banquet (see Lk 7:46; see also 2 Sam 12:20; Eccl 9:8; Dan 10:3). Cup: the same image is found in Pss 16:5; 75:9; 116:13. This verse indicates that the Messianic Banquet (see Ps 22:27) is reserved for the righteous; the wicked are excluded from it (see Isa 65:13f).
Psalm 23:6 Goodness and kindness: the terms often refer to blessings of God’s covenant with Israel; here they are personified (see Pss 25:21; 43:3; 79:8; 89:14). Days of my life: see Pss 27:4; 128:5. Forever: this word could mean “throughout the years.” However, since even the pagan people surrounding Israel believed that human life continued after death in some kind of shadowy existence in the netherworld (see notes on Pss 11:7; 16:9-11), the word “forever” legitimately can be taken in its true sense.

1 Samuel 15:32-34

³²Agag’s Death. Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” Agag came before him cheerfully, for Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” ³³Then Samuel said, “As your sword made women childless, so among women your mother will be childless.” Samuel then hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord.

³⁴After this Samuel traveled to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.

John 1:1-9

A New Creation^[a]

In the Beginning Was the Word^[b]

Chapter 1

The Word of God, Source of Life^[c]

¹In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
²He was with God in the very beginning.
³Through him all things came into existence,
and without him there was nothing.
That which came to be
⁴found life in him,
and the life was the light of the human race.
⁵The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has been unable to overcome it.

Faith Means Welcoming the Word of God Made Man.^[d] ⁶A man appeared, sent by God, whose name was John.^[e] ⁷He came as a witness to give testimony to the light, so that through him all might come to believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; his role was to bear witness to the light.

⁹The true light that enlightens everyone
was coming into the world.

Footnotes

John 1:1 As believers contemplate Christ, they cannot but reflect on the fate of the universe and the destiny of the human race. They believe that creation is the work of God. In Jesus they see the Word who is of God and has come to renew creation. In the view of the evangelist, both the testimony of John the Baptist and the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana attest to this renewal.
These first texts seem to comprise a week in the life of Jesus, as if the author wanted to establish a parallel between the first week of creation and the new work of God in Jesus.
John 1:1 Rather than being an introduction, this well-known “Prologue of John” resembles an “overture.” The entire Gospel is summed up in a few lines and all its essential themes are brought together. The great conviction of faith is immediately proclaimed: Jesus is God who has entered into the world and history to save us. With this key in hand, it is possible to understand all that Jesus says and does. This majestic prelude, written in rhythmic prose, unfolds in three stages (1:1-5; 1:6-14; 1:15-18).
John 1:1 In the first stage of the Prologue, we wonder at Jesus, the Word, whose person and existence infinitely transcend the world and history. We also call to mind creation, which is from the very outset an action of the Word, that is, of the creative Word of God, the divine Wisdom and source of life that makes the world exist (see Gen 1:1; Prov 8:22f.). At the same time, we proclaim the new creation, for the Word offers human beings a new life that comes from God and illumines their entire existence.
This Prologue is a hymn to the Word (in Latin, Verbum; in Greek, Logos). The term “Word” sums up and goes beyond everything that the Old Testament had glimpsed of the presence of God amid humanity by means of his Word; it includes and is superior to everything that the philosophy of the age could imagine regarding God’s reflection in the universe.
John 1:6 The second stage of the Prologue calls to mind the struggle of human beings against the light. John came, a man sent to announce the coming of the light to God’s own, that is, the people of Israel. But he was not the Messiah! In Jesus, and in Jesus alone, the very Word of God became flesh, in order that the gift of the Lord might be present among us, in our human existence.
John 1:6 John, i.e., the Baptist.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 23[a]

Prayer to the Good Shepherd

Footnotes

A New Creation[a]

In the Beginning Was the Word[b]

Chapter 1

The Word of God, Source of Life[c]

Footnotes

Psalm 23^[a]

A New Creation^[a]

In the Beginning Was the Word^[b]

The Word of God, Source of Life^[c]