Understanding How Our Lectionary Is Organized
Starting on June 2, you will be hearing some Bible passages in worship that you have not heard read in worship in quite some time, if ever. We will be switching our first reading and psalm to what is known as the “semi-continuous” readings for the season after Pentecost (until Christ the King Sunday in November). When I’ve explained the idea of switching to the semi-continuous readings, though, I’ve found that most people are unaware of how our lectionary, or set of assigned readings each Sunday, is organized. It is one of those things in church that we do without very often taking the time to explain what we are doing and why. So before explaining the “what” and “why” of the semi-continuous readings, let me first give a quick overview of how the lectionary is set organized.
Each Sunday, there are four assigned readings. One is from one of the Gospels, one from a New Testament epistle writing, one Psalm, and one other reading (usually from the Old Testament). The Gospel readings are on a 3-year rotation, with one year focused on Matthew, one on Luke, and one on Mark. The Gospel of John is sprinkled throughout, especially in the Mark year because more is shorter than the others. The epistle readings, meanwhile, are always semi-continuous. “Semi-continuous” simply means that we hear the book straight through but do not include every verse or passage. So if, for example, our epistle reading is Ephesians, we will read from Ephesians for several weeks starting with the first chapter and working through it. We will not hear all of Ephesians in worship though; it will be a highlights version of sorts. The Psalm, meanwhile, is a rotation designed to match themes in the other readings for the day.
The First Reading is where you will notice the biggest change. In the festival half of the year (Advent through Pentecost), the first reading has themes that are chosen to complement the themes found in the Gospel reading. The First Reading is usually from the Old Testament and most often the prophets, with some exceptions like using Acts during Easter season. The lectionary as St. Matthew has been using it continues this approach during the other half of the year, the season after Pentecost. This is generally considered to be the standard Lutheran approach, while other denominations that use the lectionary consider it to be the alternate approach. They consider the semi-continuous readings to be the standard, while Lutherans call it an alternate choice.
The semi-continuous readings give an abridged run-through of the whole Old Testament. One year covers Genesis through the time of the judges, the next picks up with Samuel and David. It focuses on time of Kings, the exile, along with Proverbs and a few other readings. The third year focuses on the prophets. This summer we will be starting with Daniel. The semi-continuous readings do not necessarily match themes with the Gospel reading. Rather, it gives us a chance to hear some of passages in scripture that speak of God’s action in their own way. By using these readings, we will have a chance to hear in worship some classic accounts in scripture that we do not otherwise hear in worship. My hope is that by using it, at least for the next few years, it will help to remind us of the depth of God’s work in the world by hearing some familiar stories in new ways.
Pastor Eric J. Trozzo