We’re about to complete our fourth year in the Narrative Lectionary, which is on a 4-year cycle. Each year focuses on a different gospel, and since we started with Year 3 and Luke, we’re wrapping up with Mark in Year 2. I’ve appreciated a lot about it, including the invitation to do a deep dive into each of the gospels. While there are optional summer mini-series, we’ve done our own thing each summer, and I’ve really appreciated the creativity that has sparked in those. It will be hard to top Mr. Rogers, but this will be a fun summer theme, too. I promise.
This journey with Mark has given me a new appreciation for this earliest, briefest Gospel, but each week is getting harder. It’s appropriate that it coincides with our study on Bonhoeffer, because in my opinion, Mark, of all the gospels, is the most explicit about the costs and challenges of discipleship. Some preachers may get a real thrill from tackling that subject, but I’ll be honest - it’s not my fave. We’ll complete our time in Mark at the end of this month, on Easter Sunday, with the original ending. Stay tuned!
I would love to hear from you about your experiences with the Narrative Lectionary, if you’ve noticed any change at all. I appreciate the narrative focus, and the way it presents the arc from Creation to Pentecost each of the four years, and as I said, the invitation to dwell deeply in one Gospel each year. The readings tend to be longer, but the pericopes invite us to approach familiar passages from different perspectives. Additionally, there are more than a few passages that the Revised Common Lectionary omits altogether.
Share your thoughts! The Pentecost team will meet to start planning this month, and Harvest will be here before we know it. We might just be starting Lent, but I’m already thinking of September. Speaking of, serving on a Seasonal Team is a great way to get involved and immersed - for a season. If you’d like to serve on Pentecost, let me or Amy Lemmons know. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, have a blessed Lent!
Grace and Peace,
Stephanie