Archive
Subscribe
Weather
 |
|
 |
|
Pastoral Pondering: Preparing for a change of season, renewed
responsibility |
August means warm days, weekend getaways,
recreation and relaxation. August also means anticipation and
preparation — getting ready for school, getting ready to resume
social activities and community responsibilities after a summer
hiatus, getting ready for all that fall brings.
For me August is a month for looking ahead as I outline plans and
ideas for our worship celebrations for the last quarter of the year.
That means I’m already thinking about Advent and Christmas.
When it comes to worship planning and sermon preparation I usually
follow the lectionary. Lectionary? The spell check on my
computer doesn’t recognize that word, so I presume that you might
not know what it is either.
The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of scripture
readings which includes four biblical texts for each Sunday. The
weekly selection of texts is usually comprised of a gospel passage,
a psalm and two additional readings: one from the Hebrew scriptures
and one from the epistles.
The lectionary is widely used in mainline churches, especially by
Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians.
There are many reasons why I choose to use the lectionary to guide
my preaching and our worship. First of all, the cycle of reading
helps all of us to receive the overall message of scripture. During
the course of a three-year lectionary cycle a congregation has the
opportunity to explore the Bible in some depth and to hear the
message of God’s love in a variety of ways that challenge and
inspire us.
The lectionary also follows the seasons of the church year. This
helps us to pay attention to the seasons in our lives and aspects of
out Christian vocation. In each year of the cycle the lectionary
focuses particularly on one of the gospels. For example, you
may have noticed that during this past year we have been reading
passages from Luke’s gospel. This attention to the gospels helps us
to know and to understand the story of Jesus’ mission and ministry
more completely.
My main reason for following the lectionary is a spiritual one.
Left to my own devices I would probably choose a favorite gospel
passage or other Bible text that are well known to me and that
would, I think, make sermon and worship preparation a lot easier and
much less challenging.
The lectionary provides me with spiritual discipline. When I follow
the lectionary I read scriptures that are less familiar and even
“difficult” and I am challenged to explore God’s word, to do
extensive research and study, to reflect on the message and to write
in response to God’s promise as I consider the spiritual life of the
congregation.
So in the month of August I am mulling over the passages from
Luke’s gospel which we will explore together in the fall. In the
early weeks of the season there’s the parable about the lost sheep
which we know, and then there’s the one about the persistent widow
which we don’t know so well.
Later we’ll consider the story of the 10 lepers Jesus healed and
then heed Jesus’ invitation to Zacchaeus to get out of his tree. As
Advent approaches we’ll hear challenging words about God’s kingdom
and then in Advent, with the beginning of a new church year and a
new lectionary cycle, we’ll begin a journey through Matthew’s gospel
with scripture texts that inspire us to prepare our hearts for the
coming Messiah.
As I read the scriptures, Bible commentaries and other resource’s,
I am inspired and grateful for the gift of God’s sacred word and for
the privilege of sharing the good news. Our life together and
our call to mission is informed by scripture and inspired by God’s
spirit in our midst.
Let us continue to praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Jane Shaffer is the pastor at First United
Methodist Church.
|
|
From
Aug. 7, 2004,
Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
|
 |
|
