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Revised
Common Lectionary Readings for Year A
What
is the Revised
Common Lectionary?
The lectionary is simply a list of
scripture readings assigned to be read in public worship on each
Sunday
and festival occasion
(Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, etc.) of the year. The source
of this lectionary derives from the Consultation on
Common Texts,
a group made up of representatives from various denominations
in North America who have decided on the texts to be
assigned. The
purpose of the lectionary is to present to the minister and to
congregations a wide variety and diversity of Scripture readings,
with the hope that over a three-year period, Christians will
be exposed to a large portion of the Bible during their
worship services.
The advantage of such a lectionary is that ministers and worship
leaders who follow it will not be tempted to preach or teach
repeatedly on their favorite passages, but rather will
be forced to struggle
with passages of Scripture which may not be in accord with their
beliefs or preferences. In addition, the congregation itself
is exposed to a broader base of Scripture passages
than might otherwise
be the case.
There are four passages assigned for each Sunday: one passage
comes from the Old Testament (except the Psalms), one passage is
a psalm, one passage is from one of the Gospels, and one passage
is from a portion of the New Testament other than the Gospels.
Altogether, there are two Old Testament and two New Testament passages
assigned every Sunday.
Each of the three yearly cycles, labeled A, B, and C, begins on
the First Sunday of Advent (the Sunday closest to November 30).
You will notice that particular books are the focus for particular
years. For example, during year A, the Gospel readings come almost
entirely from the Gospel of Matthew. During year B, the Gospel
of Mark will take on the same role, and the Gospel of Luke will
be the focus of year C. Since the cycle only runs for three years
and then repeats itself, the Gospel of John does not have this
kind of a role; rather, readings from John’s Gospel occur
primarily in special seasons, particularly Lent. One will find
similar principles involved in the other lectionary passages.
Advent
Advent is a four-week period in which the church not only looks
forward to the birth and incarnation of Jesus Christ, but also
to his return. This season is observed for the first four Sundays
prior to Christmas. The traditional liturgical color for this season
is purple.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for
Advent (Year A)
Printable version of Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Advent
(Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Christmas
Christmas
is the festival of the birth of Christ and the celebration of God’s
coming among us as a human being. The Christmas season begins on
Christmas Eve and ends with Epiphany (January
6). The traditional liturgical color for this season is white.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings
for Christmas (Year A)
Printable version of Revised Common
Lectionary Readings for Christmas (Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Ordinary Time I
Following the Christmas season, there is a period of Sundays in
which no special festival or occasion is being observed. Liturgically,
this is known as Ordinary Time, and there are two periods in the
liturgical year which have this designation. The first comes after
Epiphany (January 6) and lasts until Ash Wednesday (the beginning
of Lent). The traditional liturgical color for this season is green.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for
Ordinary Time I (Year A)
Printable version of Revised Common Lectionary Readings
for Ordinary
Time I (Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Lent
Lent
is a season of forty weekdays and six Sundays, beginning on Ash
Wednesday and culminating in Holy Week. In this season,
the church remembers and contemplates the atoning death of Jesus.
Holy Week, the last week of the Lenten season, relives Jesus’ final
week in Jerusalem, from his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem (Palm
Sunday), to his last meal with his disciples (Maundy Thursday),
to his actual crucifixion (Good Friday). The traditional liturgical
color for this season is purple. In our church, our current confirmation
class strips the chancel of all paraments during the Maundy Thursday
worship service, and the Cross is draped with a black shroud. It
remains this way until Easter.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for
Lent (Year A)
Printable Version of Revised Common Lectionary
Readings for Lent (Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Holy
Week (Year A)
Printable Version of Revised Common Lectionary
Readings for Holy Week (Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Easter
Easter
is a fifty-day season consisting of seven Sundays, beginning with
Easter Sunday (marking Jesus’ resurrection) and ending
with Pentecost (the birth of the church through the gift of the
Holy Spirit to Christians). The focus of this season is the hope
of new life that we have now that God has defeated the power of
sin and death through the resurrection of Jesus. The traditional
liturgical color for this season is white, except for Pentecost,
where red paraments are used.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for
Easter (Year A)
Printable Version of Revised Common Lectionary
Readings for Easter
(Year A) (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Ordinary Time II
This
second period of Ordinary Time begins on the Sunday following Pentecost
and lasts until the new liturgical year begins on the
first Sunday of Advent (the Sunday closest to November 30). Unlike
the first period, this second period does contain some special
observances, including Trinity Sunday and All Saints’ Day.
The traditional liturgical color for this season is green. (The
readings have been divided into two part
Revised Common Lectionary Readings
for Ordinary Time II (Year
A) Part I
Printable Version of Revised Common
Lectionary Readings for Ordinary Time II (Year A) Part I (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for
Ordinary Time II (Year A)
Part II
Printable Version of Revised Common
Lectionary Readings for Ordinary Time II (Year A) Part II (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
Lectionary selections are from the Revised Common
Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by the Consultation on Common
Texts (CCT). Nashville: Abingdon Press. Used with permission.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in
the USA. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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