The Living Word Lectionary Discussion Group
Each Sunday, we prepare for worship by meeting from 10:00-10:45 to read and reflect on the scripture readings for the Sunday. Please join us as we discover together how God's Word can live in our heads, hearts and hands today as well as in the time it was written.
The readings for each Sunday in Lent can alsp be found on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) page under the present seaon.
At St. Andrew's our practice is to use the The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) as the basis for our scriptural reflection during the conduct of public worship. The RCL was developed by a committed group of ecumenical scholars and litrugical leaders know as the Consultation On The Common Texts (CCT). This organization continues to guide and support the developement of new resources based on the RCL. The CCT represents the majority of American Christians in churches which follow a prescribed liturgical pattern.
What is a Lectionary?
A lectionary is a collection of readings or selections from the Scriptures, arranged and intended for proclamation during the worship of the people of God. Lectionaries were known and used in the fourth century, where major churches arranged the Scripture readings according to a schedule which follows the calendar of the church's year. This practice of assigning particular readings to each Sunday and festival has continued through the history of the Christian Church.
Revised Common Lectionary and the Roman Lectionary
The roots and history of the RCL and the Roman Catholic Lectionary originated in the Roman Catholic Church, where it generally goes by the Latin name Ordo Lectionum Missae.
Since the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965, the revised lectionary of the Roman Catholic Church has been a foundation-block upon which many contemporary lectionaries have been based, most notably the RCL, and its derivatives.
Most of the current lectionaries used by western Christian denominations organize the scripture passages to be read in worship services for each week of the year. The listing for a given week includes:
- A reading from the Old Testament;
- A responsorial Psalm;
- A reading from one of the Epistles;
- A reading from one of the Gospels.
3 year cycle
The Lectionary (both Roman and RCL versions) is organized into a three-year cycle of readings. The reading cycle is denoted by letter as A, B, or C. The year A cycle begins at the Advent and Christmas near the end of those years whose number is evenly divisible by 3, e.g., 2001, 2004, 2007. Year B follows year A, and year C follows year B.
- Year A: Most Gospel readings from the Gospel of Matthew.
- Year B: Most Gospel readings from the Gospel of Mark.
- Year C: Most Gospel readings from the Gospel of Luke.
The Gospel of John is read throughout Eastertide, and is used for other liturgical seasons including Advent, Christmastide, and Lent where appropriate.