In the normal course of preaching and worship at St. Paul, we use a lectionary to guide our scripture readings. Sometimes, we might spend a fe weeks on a theme. Other times we might spend a few weeks in a particular book of the Bible.  Normally, however, we follow a lectionary guide.

There are two main lectionaries that St. Paul uses: The Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary. The Revised Common Lectionary assigns four readings for each Sunday: 1st Lesson (usually Hebrew Bible), Psalm, 2nd Lesson (Epistle, usually from New Testament books other than the four Gospels), and a Gospel.  The Revised Common Lectionary follows a three-year cycle: A year of Matthew, a year of Mark (with a bunch of others thrown in because Mark is so short), and a year of Luke.  The 1st Lesson, Psalm and gospel are usually related to each other in some way and the 2nd Lesson often spends several weeks in one or another of the ‘letters’.  The Revised Common Lectionary closely follows the Church Year.

The Narrative Lectionary is a four-year cycle. There is a year of Matthew, a year of Mark, a year of Luke, and a year of John. The big difference for the Narrative Lectionary is that there is only one lesson assigned for each Sunday.  Starting in September, the Narrative Lectionary starts in Genesis and works it’s way through the Bible into the Epistles as we get to the season of Easter. Other than Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, the Narrative Lectionary does not follow the church year.  The Lectionary follows the story of Christianity starting with our roots in creations in Genesis.

We will again follow the Narrative Lectionary beginning September 8. This year in the Narrative Lectionary is the year of Luke so when we get to Christmas we will follow the story of Jesus through Luke’s Gospel.

This year, we will chant a Psalm together and then read the assigned lectionary text for that Sunday. We will not read any New Testament scripture until we get to December 22 and the announcement of the birth of Christ. For September, October, November and most of December we will concentrate on the story of God’s people in the Hebrew Bible.

What might be helpful for your devotion and study this year is to read through the Gospel of Luke this fall. What you will find is that the readings we will study together for the next few months are setting the stage for what we will study between Christmas and Easter. What is beautiful about the Narrative Lectionary is that it highlights the ongoing work of God throughout the Biblical record.  As a preacher, I find myself hearing the echoes of God’s work in the Hebrew Bible as we celebrate Christmas and Easter.

I look forward ot sharing this story with you this year.  I hope that we will all be able encounter the salvation of humanity through Jesus Christ with fresh eyes and renewed wonder.