Lectionary (Bible Readings)

In the beginning was the Word...

A Lectionary is an ordered system for reading the Holy Scriptures at the eucharist and the Daily Offices. It is usually presented in the form of a table of references for the psalms and readings for the various days of the liturgical year, although it may be a separate book containing the actual texts of the readings. The BCP contains two lectionaries: The eucharistic lectionary (BCP, pp. 887-931), and the Daily Office lectionary (BCP, pp. 933-1001).

The association of particular texts with specific days began in the 4th century.  The Lectionary [1969, revised 1981] developed by the Roman Catholic Church after Vatican II provided for a three-year cycle of Sunday readings.  This Roman lectionary provided the basis for lectionary in The Book of Common Prayer 1979 as well as those developed by many other denominations.

The Lectionary in the BCP and other contemporary lectionaries use a three-year cycle, referred to as Years A, B, and C. Year A begins on the First Sunday in Advent in years evenly divisible by three (e.g., 2001). The Daily Office lectionary follows a two-year cycle. Year One begins on the First Sunday in Advent preceding odd-numbered years and Year Two even-numbered years. In the eucharistic lectionary the Gospel According to Matthew is read in Year A, Mark in Year B, and Luke in Year C. The Gospel According to John is used during Lent and Easter, and on some Sundays in Year B, since Mark is shorter than the other gospels.

The Episcopal Church is now using the Revised Common Lectionary (Sundays) while maintaining the BCP Daily Office Lectionary.

The Common Lectionary , published in 1983, was an ecumenical project of several American and Canadian denominations, developed out of a concern for the unity of the Church and a desire for a common experience of Scripture.  It was intended as a harmonization of the many different denominational approaches to the three-year lectionary. It has been in trial use in the Episcopal Church and among the member denominations since 1983.

The Revised Common Lectionary, published in 1992, takes into account constructive criticism of the Common Lectionary based on the evaluation of its trial use and like the current prayer-book lectionary is a three-year cycle of Sunday Eucharistic readings in which Matthew, Mark and Luke are read in successive years with some material from John read in each year.

The Revised Common Lectionary provides these features:

The option of semi-continuous reading of the great Old Testament narratives on the Sundays after Pentecost, to provide exciting new preaching opportunities, vacation Bible School ideas or informal summer story-telling for adults as well as children.

The option of lections in thematic harmony with the Gospel of the day for the Sundays after Pentecost.  This follows the pattern of the present lectionary in which the readings from the Old Testament and the New Testament are chosen in relation to the Gospel. The Inclusion of women and their role in salvation history, offering texts about women never heard on Sunday before.  The most notable example is the account of the woman anointing Jesus at Bethany [Mark 14:3-9].  Jesus responded by saying “wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”  This text, omitted in the present lectionary, is included in the Revised Common Lectionary as part of the Passion narrative read on Palm Sunday in Year B.

Note: The Revised Common Lectionary preserves approximately 90% of the Gospel readings in the Lectionary of The Book of Common Prayer 1979.

 Why is the Revised Common Lectionary of value to the Episcopal Church?

Link to The Lectionary