The Lectionary

What is a Lectionary?

Lectionary comes from the Latin word lection, meaning a reading or lesson. A standard lectionary is set up to follow a yearly cycle, focusing on the life of Jesus. The Scriptural texts for reading are taken from Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Letters of Paul.  In many traditions, the Sunday sermon is drawn from the lectionary reading, especially from the Gospel reading. Today, many churches use the Revised Common Lectionary, which is endorsed by the American Baptist Assoc. It is a 3-year Sunday Lectionary (used in Sunday worship), and the 2-year Daily Lectionary, for personal use to assist a person in reading through the entire Bible.

In Luke 4: 16-17 Jesus Himself read least one lectionary reading, in his hometown of Nazareth (“He (Jesus) entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him…”

The first Christians, who were raised Jewish used the traditional lectionary of Jewish readings. However, over time the church incorporated other events to celebrate and individuals worthy of commemoration around the Lectionary readings. For example, Pastor’s Anniversary in April and our Church Anniversary in October falls within second Ordinary Time (see below) would be highlighted along with the Scripture listed for those Sundays.
 
Why would Christians follow a Lectionary? Through prayerful reading of the texts of the Lectionary we can get into the rhythm and flow of the cycles of the Christian story, to learn it, to relive it and to experience the strengthening of our faith in our every day lives.
What is the Cycle of Seasons of the Lectionary? Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time
 
C year of the Lectionary

This year, 2009-2010, is called the C year of the Lectionary.  The prophetic text for this year is Jeremiah and the gospel is that of Luke.

Jeremiah was born probably after 650 BCE, Anathoth, Judah died c. 570 BCE,  in Egypt.   He was a Hebrew prophet, reformer, and author of a biblical book that bears his name. He was closely involved in the political and religious events of a crucial era in the history of the ancient Near East; his spiritual leadership helped his fellow countrymen survive disasters that included the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians  (modern Iraq)in 586 BCE and the exile of many Judeans to Babylonia.  From Encyclopedia Britannica

Jeremiah…a weeping prophet; so he is commonly called, not only because he penned the Lamentations, but because he was all along a mournful spectator of the sins of his people and of the desolating judgments that were coming upon them. And for this reason, perhaps, those who imagined our Saviour to be one of the prophets thought him of any of them to be most like to Jeremiah (Mt. 16:14), because he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. From Matthew Henry Commentary

The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension. The author is traditionally identified as Luke the Evangelist.  

The author, writing from a Gentile perspective, is characteristically concerned with social ethics, the poor, women, and other oppressed groups.   Certain popular stories on these themes, such as the prodical son and the good Samaritan, are found only in this gospel. This gospel also has a special emphasis on prayer, the activity of the Holy Spirit, and joyfulness.  Donald Gutherie claimed, “it is full of superb stories and leaves the reader with a deep impression of the personality and teachings of Jesus.” 

The author intended to write a historical account  bringing out the theological significance of the history.  The author's purpose was to portray Christianity as divine, respectable, law-abiding, and international.  Scholarship is in wide agreement that the author of Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.  In fact, "the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles originally constituted a two-volume work."  In some editions of the Bible, Luke-Acts has been presented as a single book.  Both Luke and Acts are addressed to Theophilus, and there are several theories concerning why.

…Like the rest of the New Testament, the gospel was written in Greek. Like Mark (but unlike Matthew), the intended audience is Gentile, and it assures readers that Christianity is an international religion, not an exclusively Jewish sect.  From Wikipedia

Advent, we prepare for God's coming among us.
Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the gift of God with us. 

Epiphany, we celebrate God revealing Jesus to all peoples.

 
Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday is taking a hard, sober look at our own role in bringing about Jesus' death, only to God, who is the only One with the power to forgive us and change us. In Lent we also commemorate the last week of Jesus’ life, which begins with Palm Sunday, Maunday Thursday (Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper) and Good Friday.

Easter, celebrates Jesus’ victory over death, hell and the grave. That life is always more powerful than Death.

Pentecost. We celebrate the coming of the promised Holy Spirit to empower every believer. 

Ordinary Time. Following the life of Jesus through Bible readings.

How these devotions came to be.

Some of you may know that Brother William P. Henry and I, Rev. Julia Bruton-Sheppard, have had the privilege of initiating the week of prayer before our yearly revival, by preaching from the same text.  We have learned that God can give equally valid messages through two distinct individuals, with life different experiences.  

Christians worship on Sunday mornings.  This wasn't done to give us a separate day from the Jews, who worship Friday evenings through Saturday.  It was done because Jesus rose from the dead Sunday morning, making Sunday a day of the great victory:  That LIFE is more powerful that death.

It is for this reason that Minister Henry and I will focus our devotional thoughts using the Sunday Lectionary texts.  In time it is our hope to offer daily devotional readings following the daily Lectionary.  This makes your feedback important.  If you are blessed by the Sunday devotions, let us know.