Year B: Introduction to the Lectionary and Resources
My initial thoughts going into a year of preaching the lectionary
In 2020, I had the privilege of being a stay-at-home dad with my son Cayden. Every day we had the same schedule: walk to a diner for breakfast, come back home for a nap, wake up to play and eat lunch, take another nap, and then play while waiting for mom to come home.
During these nap times, I would get all of my reading in that I could. I read through the Bible, a large chunk of C. S. Lewis’s works, and Thomas Keating’s trilogy on centering prayer as well as a few other of his works.
Ever since reading The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience in 2020, I’ve wanted to preach through the lectionary. A few things kept me from doing this effectively until now, but the main thing was a total ignorance of what the lectionary is, how it works, and how to preach from it. While it still is an enigma to me, I’ve decided to just give it a shot.
To prepare for this, I’ve reached out to several of my friends who are in a more liturgical church to ask for advice. In this first blogspot I will be explaining some of my reservations, hopes, and desires in preaching the lectionary while also detailing a few of my fears. I’ll also be sharing the resources that were shared to me so that you can have a better understanding of what I’m doing going forward.
As of now, I plan on posting these updates on Monday of each week following the Sunday’s reading. In each post, I’ll post the reading references, the name of the reading, a condensed sermon manuscript, and perhaps a few thoughts about how I think it’s going. For the Sundays that I preach, I will also include a link to my sermon.
My thoughts Going Into It
What originally drew me to the lectionary was Thomas Keating’s work in explaining its benefit. In the preface to The Mystery of Christ, he wrote,
The whole panorama of the mysteries of Jesus’ life is condensed in a single Eucharistic celebration. The Liturgical Year divides up all that is contained in that single explosion of divine light, life and love so that we can more easily assimilate the significance of these theological ideas by experiencing them one by one…Each year the Liturgical Year provides a complete course in moral, dogmatic, ascetical and mystical theology.1
He continues a little further down,
The entire scope of the mystery of Christ is experienced at ever-deepening levels of assimilation as we celebrate the liturgical seasons and their various feasts year by year.2
Preaching the lectionary, then, has a way of taking an entire congregation through a spiritual journey throughout the year. It doesn’t fail to cover every aspect of the Christian faith, and, in doing so, guides people into perfect love.
Since this has always been the aim of my preaching and teaching, it is only natural that I give this a shot. I do have high hopes that it will be beneficial to those who follow the readings and pay attention to the messages within each, but I am not so naive to think that it will bring wholesale transformation after one year.
What I fear is that I will lose interest or become distracted. Even when I preach through a series of my own design, I sometimes get to the point where I just want it to be over. I don’t want that to happen with this project, but I can’t help how my mind works.
So instead of allowing this to be an excuse that will keep me from even trying, I’ve decided to press forward anyways and see how it goes.
One of the other reservations I have comes from my religious background. Being raised in the Church of Christ, I have strong puritan roots. We celebrated Christmas and Easter, but we also made it plain that it was in no way connected to the birth of Jesus or to the resurrection of Jesus. After all, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus weekly in communion, and the Bible never commands us to celebrate Jesus’s birth.
So that’s baggage I’ll have to deal with.
Even though I don’t subscribe to those beliefs anymore, there is that inner fundamentalist, as my friend Brian calls it, who is in the back of my head: “Where do you see any of this in scripture? Easter is a pagan holiday, after all, etc., etc.,”
The other roadblock I have to face is similar to every minister I know: the commercialization of holidays and consumerism run amuck. In Reginald Fuller and Daniel Westberg’s book Preaching the Lectionary, they advise,
“In view of the social accretions and commercial exploitation of Christmas today…our aim must be to work for a proper understanding of Christmas among our people. This can be best done by deemphasizing its historical aspect and putting stress upon its theological (or eschatological) aspect” (p. 16).3
Resources and Tools
Revised Common Lectionary
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu
While it may be obvious, to follow the lectionary readings, you’ll need access to the Revised Common Lectionary. For a little bit of history and a lit of churches who use this lectionary, you can check out the Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Common_Lectionary
My friend Brian shared this link with me which briefly introduces some of the benefits of preaching the lectionary. For me, avoiding favorite passages or themes is a compelling reason to preach the lectionary: https://preachingtherevisedcommonlectionary.com/lectionary/
By the way, we are on year B!
The Liturgical Calendar
From my friend Brian -
The Liturgical calendar is the blueprint the lectionary follows. For a simple overview of the calendar, this link walks through the different seasons, special days, the purpose behind them, and, yes, the colors:
https://www.faithward.org/the-liturgical-calendar/
The Mystery of Christ
The Mystery of Christ by Thomas Keating was the book that got me started in all of this, so I do plan on rereading it throughout the year. I have my copy both in paperback and electronically. I recommend anything by Keating! He helped me deal with my spiritual trauma in ways no other author has.
Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary
Brian also shared this one with me. This blog contains a catalogue of reflections on the lectionary that are focused on the work and life of René Girard, a French anthropologist. Girard’s work has been so influential in my life, so I’m especially thankful to Brian for sharing this with me.
http://girardianlectionary.net
Preaching the Lectionary
From my friends Ben and Shari -
Preaching the Lectionary was a book originally written to a Roman Catholic audience, but it has since been adopted by ministers and laypeople from all across the Christian spectrum. Now in its third edition, Preaching the Lectionary follows the Revised Common Lectionary (for the most part) and provides historical background, interesting observations, and sermon suggestions for every reading.
My friend Ben gave me his first edition copy, a copy he had been using since it was originally published in the mid 80s. Then my friend Shari, not knowing Ben gave me his copy, surprised me with a third edition copy she ordered alongside her own at Ben’s recommendation! They are truly amazing friends.
I suggest ordering this book at your local bookstore (around $45 new, much cheaper used).
Life in Christ: Practicing Christian Spirituality
From my friend Shari -
Life in Christ is a 207 page work by Julia Gatta, a professor of Pastoral Theology at the School of Theology at Sewanee. It explores the meaning and impact behind the practices and work of the church. Included within this is a chapter called “Sanctifying Time through the Liturgical Round,” but I haven’t quite gotten there yet. Still, it is a great book so far, and I look forward to getting around to that chapter!
Feasting on the Word
From my friends Greg and Christina -
Feasting on the Word is a massive 12-volume set which covers all three years of the lectionary. While I would like to purchase this set, I think it will be easier to invest in the volumes individually at first. It is available in print, but it’s also available electronically through Logos Bible software, so I may end up picking it up through there eventually.
Pulpit Fiction
From Greg and Christina again -
Pulpit Fiction is a podcast that covers the lectionary readings a week in advance. It is a great way to get more information on the lectionary readings as you are finishing up your sermon preparation. I’ve listened to a few episodes when I was practicing preaching from the lectionary texts during ordinary time, but I will probably become a regular listener in the course of this project.
Other Resources…
There are other resources that have been suggested to me, but I haven’t had time to seriously consider these. If I come across anymore, I’ll try to remember to update this blog appropriately.
I also plan on consulting The Anticipated Christ by Brian Zahnd, WorkingPreacher/ Sermon Brainwave podcast, The Lectionary Lab, and other resources I’m sure my friends will send my way.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.
Fuller, Reginald and Daniel Westberg. Preaching the Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2006. Print.