Comments on: A Lectionary F.A.Q.

By: John Blackman

John Blackman — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:34:46 +0000

Is there anyone out there who is / has used the lectionary reading while at the same time remaining a free agent when it came to sermon series choices? For instance other than a “break” for Advent and the Easter season ( our two week version) I have been preaching through Ephesians….is there anyone out there in the wilderness, who has ploughed their own rows like this preaching wise, yet has adhered to the lectionary, in a sort of “hearing /listening” to God’s word just because it is worth it because it matters? While at the same time having that reading not necc connected directly to the sermon? Does this just lead to even more disjointed worship or have you found it works?
johnblackman@rogers.com

By: Jim Basinger

Jim Basinger — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:29:35 +0000

Having used the lectionary for years (I’m an Episcopalian); my take is that it is a useful servant, but a bad master. I keep an eye on it and am aware of where it is going; but too strict adherence to it means the death knell expository preaching on consecutive passages of the Bible.

Some of our congregations have only heard the gospel of the day preached – and even then, there are gaps in the lessons read.

By: Anna A

Anna A — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:56:08 +0000

Caine,

If your pastor was influenced by the Eastern Orthodox, then an Advent fast is more understandable. They do fast during Advent, and their fasts tend to be stricter than Catholic ones. For example, they give up all meat, all dairy and I’m not sure what else.

By: Caine

Caine — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:19:50 +0000

Our pastor just finished a 40 day fast in the week before Christmas. During those weeks, I just sat in the pew and wondered “why?” In the first place, his health was not so good to start, having caught a “bug” during a mission trip in Africa (parasite, most likely). Then I wondered on the timing. Why do this now when the proper season would be to join the church at large in such a fast during lent? Advent just didn’t seem the right time to start a fast.

Lastly, I though it would do him well to follow during lent, since Sundays are never fast days and it would give his body some respite. As it is, he fasted for 40 days straight with no break.

Your comment “It puts the church in sync with all of the Bible, the Christian year and other worshipping Christians.” has much bearing. We too often do things in isolation when the church year could put us in sync with one another as bodies in Christ.

By: chad

chad — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:21:32 +0000

I serve at a small SBC church and when our Pastor got sick in December I preached through the lectionary texts through a good bit of advent. I go to Asbury and it is a fairly common thing here to use them, but not in Baptist world.

I enjoy it because it puts the world wide church together in a way. I know that my friends are at their church and are reading the same things that day.

I grew up with the normal evangelical arguement that most church goers read the bible enough, but I think that is hog wash. I teach an adult Sunday School class and many of my members are life long church go-ers but have the bible literacy of a high schooler.

I wish that we could read through more scripture in service…especially when using the lectionary I really enjoy all of the readings together.

By: Fr. Peter+

Fr. Peter+ — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:29:52 +0000

Josh point is well taken. Lectionaries presuppose a hermeneutic. Typically a lectionary assumes the preacher is going to approach the texts with a more canonical and historical/redemptive reading of the scripture than with a grammatical/historical approach with heavy emphasis on authorial intent. This is not to say the two approached are mutually exclusive it is more of a difference in emphasis. However, in my own preaching, the use of the lectionary has moved me to be more attentive to canoncial echoes, allusions and links in the canon rather than fixate only on the one text before me.

By: Michael Spencer

Michael Spencer — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:38:42 +0000

Josh: Good criticisms. Just remember that in my world, there is no systematic, public reading of scripture at all. Preachers do series on “success” and “stress” with selected verses at best. Many sermons make no reference to Jesus or the Gospel and the idea of the Christian year is taboo. I’ll take anyone’s lectionary over the almost total abandonment of the place of the actual texts of the Bible that has overtaken my corner of evangelicalism.

By: Josh S

Josh S — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:28:02 +0000

The primary historical reason for why many churches do not use the traditional lectionary is simply that Calvin and Zwingli abandoned the old Roman lectionary in favor of lectio continuo on the grounds that the old lectionary omitted huge portions of Scripture and chopped up the books into disconnected pieces and thus has little to do with the contemporary worship movement (for the record, this is one of the areas where my sympathies lie more with Calvin than with Luther). The 3-year series in the RCL originates with Vatican II. I may be wrong, but I don’t think the Presbyterians used the Roman lectionary prior to V2. “Preaching through the Bible” is basically the historic Reformed non-Anglican practice, and it was this that was abandoned by the contemporary worship movement, not a particular lectionary.

The 1-year series was first created by Jerome, revised by Alcuin of York, and updated once or twice later. The 3-year series was created out of whole cloth at Vatican II. The RCL is based on V2’s 3-year series, and the LCMS uses its own 3 year series which is largely the Vatican II series with the missing verses put back in, as the Catholic series tends to omit verses concerning hell, judgment of heathens, and Hebrew history even when they occur in the middle of the pericope.

While lectionaries have their advantages, the disadvantage of lectionaries is that the selection of texts often reflects the theological leanings of the committee in charge.

By: Billy Belk

Billy Belk — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:48:04 +0000

Michael,

As a Southern Baptist pastor who’s been using the Revised Common Lectionary for four years now, I want to say that I really appreciate your post. The lectionary has helped me to be mindful of my “common” fellowship with the rest of Christendom when gathering with the local church on the Lord’s Day.

Billy Belk
Macedonia Baptist Church
Monroe, NC

By: Charlie

Charlie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:06:20 +0000

Good post. I do hope that there is a true rediscovery of the Lectionary in some form in Evangelicalism. Emphasizing the “teaching” of the Word to the near total exclusion of the public reading of such is very unfortunate. This public “reading” has an important place in Church gatherings right alongside exhortation and teaching (1Tim.4:13).