◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 93 (Praise to God who reigns); Acts 1:1-11 (Jesus sends the apostles); Psalm 47 (God has gone up with a shout); or Psalm 93 (Praise to God who reigns); Ephesians 1:15-23 (Seeing the risen and ascended Christ); Luke 24:44-53 (Christ present in all times and places) (New Catholic Bible)

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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 93

Psalm 93^[a]

Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

¹The Lord is King,^[b] adorned in splendor;
    the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength.
^[c]He has made the world firm,
    never to be moved.
²Your throne has stood firm from the beginning;
    you have existed throughout eternity, O Lord.
³The waters^[d] have lifted up, O Lord;
    the waters have lifted up their voice;
    the waters have lifted up their roar.
⁴More powerful than the roar of mighty waters,
    more powerful than the crashing waves of the sea,
    mighty on high is the Lord.^[e]
⁵Your decrees^[f] are firmly established;
    holiness adorns your house,
    O Lord, throughout the ages.

Footnotes

Psalm 93:1 This is one of the nine psalms of the kingdom (Pss 47; 93–100), most of which feature the liturgical acclamation “The Lord is King,” in which is centered the whole faith of Israel. All these hymns exalt the kingdom of God that extends over the entire universe and dominates the course of time. God reveals his kingship when he brings forth the world; he does so even more when he chooses Israel. Nonetheless, creation and history are still only the beginning and promise; the kingdom of God will be manifested in all its glory at the end of time (see Rev 4:11; 11:15-17): a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem—such are the images that allow us to glimpse the joy of a new humanity gathered together in the glory of God (see Rev 21:1—22:5). The acclamation of the psalms of the kingdom already vibrates with this ineffable hope.
Psalm 93 exalts the Lord who reigns, robed in majesty. He affirms his greatness by the forces of creation that he rules, by the law—or “decrees”—that he gives to his people, and by the temple of Jerusalem that he consecrates to his mysterious presence. From his earthly experience, the believer acclaims the splendor of a kingdom that can have no end.
In all truth, we can regard this psalm as applicable to Christ’s kingship and sing: “Christ is King.” For he vanquishes in himself and in his followers all hostile powers (Satan, death, and sin), delivering believers from the reign of death and transferring them into his kingdom (see Eph 1:2). This is the extraordinary wonder that he continues across the centuries until the full deliverance of his Church and the definitive destruction of his enemies will occur (see Rev 20–22).
Psalm 93:1 The Lord is King: a liturgical acclamation that sums up the entire faith of Israel (see Pss 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; see also Zec 14:9).
Psalm 93:1 The Lord established his kingdom on earth when he created the world and everything in it (see Ps 24:1). Hence, the world will not be moved no matter what pressure is brought to bear on it by hostile forces (see Pss 10:6; 104:5), because the Lord has established his rule over it. Indeed, the Lord is eternal (see Ps 90:2), but his rule was established when his throne was set up at the beginning of history with the creation (“from the beginning”; see Isa 44:8; 45:21; 48:3-8).
Psalm 93:3 Waters: the waters of the primeval chaos that the Lord mastered through his creative word (see Pss 33:7; 104:7-9; Gen 1:6-10; Job 38:8-11; see also note on Ps 65:8). They can also stand for the enemies of God and his people (see Job 7:12; Isa 8:7; 17:12; Jer 46:8; Dan 7:2; Rev 17:15) as well as the ocean currents, whose powers were feared by the pagan nations as indicated in the mythical account of Baal’s victory over the sea god Yamm.
Psalm 93:4 The Lord is the Master of the thundering storms and surging waves by his simple word (see Christ’s calming of the storm by a single word in Mk 4:39).
Psalm 93:5 Decrees: these divine judgments constitute revelation in the wide sense insofar as they are the norm of human life (see Ps 119). As stable (see Ps 19:8) as the physical universe and as inviolable (see Ps 95:8-11) as the sanctuary of Jerusalem, this revelation will be the foundation of the Lord’s definitive kingdom, inaugurated from the creation and already effective in Israel (see Isa 51:9f, 13; 52:7). Holiness adorns your house . . . throughout the ages: the temple, home of the King of Israel, is consecrated forever (1 Ki 8:13; 9:3; Jud 9:1-8; Ezek 42:13f; Rev 21:27). Those who approach the most holy God (see Ps 99) are also consecrated (see Ex 19:6; Lev 10:3; 19:2).

Acts 1:1-11

At Jerusalem^[a]

From Jesus to the Community of the Lord^[b]

Chapter 1

Prologue.^[c] ¹In my previous book, Theophilus,^[d] I wrote of everything that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day he was taken up, after first giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

The Promise of the Spirit.^[e] ³After his passion Jesus had presented himself alive to them by many proofs. He appeared to them during forty days and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. ⁴When they were gathered together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, saying, “Wait there for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak. ⁵For John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶As they were all gathered together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the dates or the times that the Father has designated by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the farthest ends of the earth.”

The Ascension of Jesus.^[f] ⁹After he said this, he was lifted up as they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. ¹⁰While he was departing as they gazed upward toward the sky, suddenly two men dressed in white robes stood beside them, ¹¹and they said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

Footnotes

Acts 1:1 In the Gospel of Luke, the life of Jesus takes the form of an ascent to Jerusalem, where through him God will decisively intervene in the destiny of humanity. The Book of Acts allows us to be present at the spread of the Gospel from that center to the ends of the earth. The Holy City is very important as the starting point of evangelization.
The experience of the young Christian community becomes exemplary, as in stories of foundations. Thus in chs. 1–7 everything takes place in Jerusalem, while in chs. 8–12 the city serves as the starting point and point of return of the stories. The Church of Jerusalem, then, is the source of Christianity: it is the mother Church and the inspiration for every other Church and for the whole Church.
Acts 1:1 The first two chapters of Acts serve a special purpose. In them we move from the risen Jesus to the community that is founded and established in the midst of the Jewish people—the community that is the starting point of the main routes along which the life of the Church develops. For readers of that period, the language used constantly recalls the great traditions of the Old Testament: the entire plan of God is recapitulated in these passages that in turn establish the perspective for what follows.
Acts 1:1 One author conceived the third Gospel and the Book of Acts as a single whole; the combination is not the result of chance. The first work tells the story of the actions and teachings of Jesus, “beginning from [John’s] baptism” (see Acts 1:22; 10:37); the second shows us the life and activity of the risen Lord, which is likewise made visible in the deeds and acts of the various communities.
Acts 1:1 Theophilus: perhaps a rich and distinguished person who has paid for the publication of the work. He is the same person as in Lk 1:3.
Acts 1:3 This is the important theme that characterizes the period of the Lord’s appearances (the period lasts forty days, between Easter and Pentecost; the number 40, which recurs so often in the Bible, is a symbol of fullness). The story highlights what it means to experience the risen Lord.
It is the Spirit who links the past phase of the life of Jesus with its present phase. This Spirit, often promised by Jesus (Lk 11:13; 24:49), brings to fulfillment all the blessings that the Messiah was to bring (see Joel 4:9; Am 9:11). The day of national restoration is no longer something to be awaited; the decisive moment has already arrived, and the Spirit is beginning to unite the peoples.
Acts 1:9 The Ascension is not the final act, but the beginning of the time to come. The cloud that hides Jesus from the eyes of the disciples recalls the cloud that covered the people in the wilderness, accompanying them night and day on their journey (Ex 40:36-38); it is a sign of God’s presence, of his glory (Lk 9:34f). The risen Jesus reunites earth with heaven, i.e., the world of human beings with the world of God.

Psalm 47

Psalm 47^[a]

The Lord, King of All Nations

¹For the director.^[b] A psalm of the sons of Korah.

²All you peoples, clap your hands,^[c]
    shout to God with cries of gladness.
³For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome;
    he is the great King over all the earth.
⁴He subdued nations under us
    and brought peoples under our feet.
⁵He chose our inheritance for us,
    the pride of Jacob,^[d] whom he loved. Selah
⁶^[e]God has ascended amid shouts of joy;
    the Lord, amid the sound of trumpets.
⁷Sing praises to God, sing praises;
    sing praises to our King, sing praises.
⁸For God is the King of the entire earth;
    sing hymns of praise to him.
⁹God reigns over all the nations;
    God is seated on his holy throne.
¹⁰The princes of the nations assemble
    with the people of the God of Abraham;
for the rulers^[f] of the earth belong to God,
    and he is exalted on high.

Psalm 93

Psalm 93^[a]

Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

Footnotes

Psalm 93:1 This is one of the nine psalms of the kingdom (Pss 47; 93–100), most of which feature the liturgical acclamation “The Lord is King,” in which is centered the whole faith of Israel. All these hymns exalt the kingdom of God that extends over the entire universe and dominates the course of time. God reveals his kingship when he brings forth the world; he does so even more when he chooses Israel. Nonetheless, creation and history are still only the beginning and promise; the kingdom of God will be manifested in all its glory at the end of time (see Rev 4:11; 11:15-17): a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem—such are the images that allow us to glimpse the joy of a new humanity gathered together in the glory of God (see Rev 21:1—22:5). The acclamation of the psalms of the kingdom already vibrates with this ineffable hope.
Psalm 93 exalts the Lord who reigns, robed in majesty. He affirms his greatness by the forces of creation that he rules, by the law—or “decrees”—that he gives to his people, and by the temple of Jerusalem that he consecrates to his mysterious presence. From his earthly experience, the believer acclaims the splendor of a kingdom that can have no end.
In all truth, we can regard this psalm as applicable to Christ’s kingship and sing: “Christ is King.” For he vanquishes in himself and in his followers all hostile powers (Satan, death, and sin), delivering believers from the reign of death and transferring them into his kingdom (see Eph 1:2). This is the extraordinary wonder that he continues across the centuries until the full deliverance of his Church and the definitive destruction of his enemies will occur (see Rev 20–22).
Psalm 93:1 The Lord is King: a liturgical acclamation that sums up the entire faith of Israel (see Pss 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; see also Zec 14:9).
Psalm 93:1 The Lord established his kingdom on earth when he created the world and everything in it (see Ps 24:1). Hence, the world will not be moved no matter what pressure is brought to bear on it by hostile forces (see Pss 10:6; 104:5), because the Lord has established his rule over it. Indeed, the Lord is eternal (see Ps 90:2), but his rule was established when his throne was set up at the beginning of history with the creation (“from the beginning”; see Isa 44:8; 45:21; 48:3-8).
Psalm 93:3 Waters: the waters of the primeval chaos that the Lord mastered through his creative word (see Pss 33:7; 104:7-9; Gen 1:6-10; Job 38:8-11; see also note on Ps 65:8). They can also stand for the enemies of God and his people (see Job 7:12; Isa 8:7; 17:12; Jer 46:8; Dan 7:2; Rev 17:15) as well as the ocean currents, whose powers were feared by the pagan nations as indicated in the mythical account of Baal’s victory over the sea god Yamm.
Psalm 93:4 The Lord is the Master of the thundering storms and surging waves by his simple word (see Christ’s calming of the storm by a single word in Mk 4:39).
Psalm 93:5 Decrees: these divine judgments constitute revelation in the wide sense insofar as they are the norm of human life (see Ps 119). As stable (see Ps 19:8) as the physical universe and as inviolable (see Ps 95:8-11) as the sanctuary of Jerusalem, this revelation will be the foundation of the Lord’s definitive kingdom, inaugurated from the creation and already effective in Israel (see Isa 51:9f, 13; 52:7). Holiness adorns your house . . . throughout the ages: the temple, home of the King of Israel, is consecrated forever (1 Ki 8:13; 9:3; Jud 9:1-8; Ezek 42:13f; Rev 21:27). Those who approach the most holy God (see Ps 99) are also consecrated (see Ex 19:6; Lev 10:3; 19:2).

Ephesians 1:15-23

The Church’s Unity with Christ^[a]

Christ, Head of the Church. Having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶I therefore never cease to give thanks to God for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him.

¹⁸I further pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, how rich and glorious is his inheritance^[b] in the saints, ¹⁹and how immeasurably great is the power that he has exercised toward those who have faith.

Such was his mighty power ²⁰that he exhibited in Christ
when he raised him from the dead
and enthroned him
at his right hand in heaven,
²¹far above
every principality and authority,
power and dominion,
and every other title
that can be named,
not only in this age
but also in the age to come.
²²He has put all things
under Christ’s feet
and has made him
the head of the Church,
²³which is his body,
the fullness of him
who fills the universe
in all its parts.

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴Then he said to them, “This is what I meant when I told you while I was still with you: Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Thereupon, he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷and that in his name repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses to all these things.

⁴⁹“And behold, I am sending upon you the gift promised by my Father. Therefore, stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰Jesus Ascends to Heaven.^[a] Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he departed from them and was taken up to heaven. ⁵²They worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy, ⁵³and they were continually in the temple praising God.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 93[a]

Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

Footnotes

At Jerusalem[a]

From Jesus to the Community of the Lord[b]

Chapter 1

Footnotes

Psalm 47[a]

The Lord, King of All Nations

Footnotes

Psalm 93[a]

Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

Footnotes

The Church’s Unity with Christ[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 93^[a]

At Jerusalem^[a]

From Jesus to the Community of the Lord^[b]

Psalm 47^[a]

Psalm 93^[a]

The Church’s Unity with Christ^[a]