Telling Stories

Summer 2026 has come to an end (at least commercially) with the advent of Labor Day. And even if our temperatures don’t quite reflect this change just yet, we know that there is just something different once we move out of what our calendars consider to be “the summer months”. We have reached September, when our days get shorter, there are rumors of temperatures getting cooler, and pumpkin spice emerges from its hiding place to once again add fall flavor to our warm beverages and more. As Bob Dylan wrote 60+ years ago, the times, they are a-changin’.

Not only are the natural seasons changing, but the Church seasons are changing as well. We have been in Ordinary Time (the largest stretch of the Christian year) since Pentecost. We remain in this stretch until Christ the King Sunday in November when we celebrate the beginning of the Christian new year. To help us through these seasons, we have something called the Lectionary. If you are new to this idea, the lectionary comes in two forms: the revised common lectionary and the new narrative lectionary. Both are designed to be helpful for reading the whole scope of the Scriptures in set cycles.

The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle that was developed in 1994 and begins on the first Sunday of Advent and runs through Christ the King Sunday the next year. Each year is based around one of the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with John being featured each year during times like Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Each Sunday of the year has four readings: Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament, and Gospel. This allows us to get a full scope of the Bible over three years and to engage passages we might never engage otherwise. This is where our weekly Scripture readings are found.

The Narrative Lectionary is newer, developed in 2010, and gives different way of following the story of Scripture, starting with the Ole Testament and moving to the New Testament throughout the year. It is set around the academic year rather than the calendar year and runs for four years, each based around one of the Gospels. Its goal is to give a more chronological, narrative sweep of Scripture rather than jumping around. Both lectionaries are designed to help us gain a fuller picture of the Bible as we read them through the year.

Starting this Sunday, we will be working through Year 1 of the Narrative Lectionary beginning in Genesis. So, I hope you will join me each week as we explore the story of faith from Genesis through Revelation over these next few months.

Grace & Peace y’all

Pastor Blake

Image Credit @steadfasttraveler4530
Jonah None:1-11 Artwork | Bible Art