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You have probably heard me comment on our lectionary readings in sermons. We have traditionally used The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for worship (except for when a theme is substituted for a season, as in Lent this year and with the Faces of Faith). 

What is a lectionary?

A lectionary is a predetermined set of bible readings used across denominations in worship. The RCL is organized in a three-year rotation of cycles based upon the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke with John mixed in. The Old Testament and Early Church readings from the New Testament complement the gospel readings. 

While we encounter a fairly wide range of passages, the RCL fails to give a good sense of the full arc of scripture. We rarely experience passages in chronological order making it hard to grasp the fullness of God’s story that begins at creation and runs through to the present.

But, the RCL is not the only lectionary available to us for use. In 2010, Profs. Rolf Jacobson and Craig Koester of Luther Seminary developed a Narrative Lectionary (NL) that presents scripture sequentially.

I am excited to share that with the unanimous support of the Church Council and the Worship and Music Committee LCR will be adopting the Narrative Lectionary on a trial basis for the 2024-2025 ministry year!

How is the Narrative Lectionary different?

The NL website states:

“The Narrative Lectionary is a four-year cycle of readings. On the Sundays from September through May each year the texts follow the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early Christian church. The texts show the breadth and variety of voices within Scripture. They invite people to hear the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the prophets, Jesus, and Paul. Listening to the many different voices within Scripture enriches preaching and the life of faith.”

In other words, the NL begins in September with Creation moving through Old Testament passages in order covering the history of the People of Israel with an emphasis on what God is up to setting the stage for Jesus. December includes Advent passages that ready us for Jesus’ birth at Christmas when the readings shift to the Gospels. 

From Christmas to Easter, the NL focuses on one gospel (no bouncing between them as in the RCL), again in order from Jesus’ birth through his death and resurrection. As Easter concludes, the NL shifts one more time to the establishment of the Early Church, which becomes the focus through the end of May. 

The NL runs on a four-year cycle, lifting up different Old and New Testament stories each Fall/Spring and moving through each of the four gospels, one at a time, in the winter. Congregations who use the NL either go back to RCL readings in the summer or choose from a variety of focused themes.

Again, from the website: “The texts include the major episodes in Scripture. They are arranged in a narrative sequence to help people see Scripture as a story that has coherence and a dynamic movement."

  • From September to mid-December the preaching texts begin with the early chapters of
    Genesis, move through the stories of Israel’s early history, the exodus, the kings, prophets, exile and return.
  • From Christmas to Easter there is sustained reading of one of the four gospels.
  • From Easter to Pentecost the texts are chosen from Acts and Paul’s letters.

The NL reflects the preaching emphasis of texts in worship. Using the NL does not mean that we will only have one reading per service. We will continue to hear from the New and Old Testaments throughout the year. Preaching will reflect the narrative sequence.

Benefits of the Narrative Lectionary

In speaking with colleagues whose congregations are using the NL, they unanimously cited increased scriptural understanding as a benefit.

They also noted that the congregation has gotten to know Jesus in more intimate ways by hearing from one gospel writer at a time and encountering the narrative of Jesus’ life in order. I was excited to hear from them that this was true not only for adults but for children and youth too! 

In a post-pandemic world where Christian Education looks very different for families than it once did, the NL is a tool for the blending of worship and education. It is my hope that these will be true for LCR as well.

We are called to keep our spiritual eyes open, attentive to the movement of the Spirit, that we might join her in the work she is doing in our midst. I have seen the Spirit at work through our Lenten and Summer series and have noted a hunger in the congregation for deeper understanding of scripture and experience of the arc of God’s story. 

This trial of the NL is a way for us to join the movement of the Spirit.

You will hear more about our adoption of the Narrative Lectionary in the coming weeks leading up to its beginning on September 7-8, Orange Day. 

I am very excited to see where the Narrative Lectionary takes us!