Each year is represented below, with its dates roughly in order (dates move around depending on when Easter falls, so the order is not perfect). Find more info about each day under “churchy dates,” the last database. Click the black arrow next to the year (A, B, or C) to collapse or expand it so that you are looking at the current year.
Even if you don’t use a lectionary, or don’t use this one, it might be helpful in your studies to see how frequently a passage comes up (or doesn’t) in congregational worship. Here are some facts to help you read this database:
- Most days have a First Reading (usually HB), a Psalm, a Second Reading (usually NT), and a Gospel.
- Some days have an optional or alternate reading, which I just list as a second pericope in that slot. Generally, the first one listed is the default (e.g., on Advent 3 of year A, Luke 1:46b-55 is an alternate to the default, Psalm 146:5-10).
- Some days have an optional longer version of a reading, e.g. Christmas 1 of year A, you could either do Luke 2:1-14 or Luke 2:1-20.
- During ordinary time (the “Propers”), almost every week has two “first readings” and two Psalms. The first first readings take readers through stories from the Hebrew Bible over the 3-year course. The second first readings pick a Hebrew Bible story with a theme that matches the one from the (NT) second reading. So, if you are looking to do a Hebrew Bible worship series, use the first one. If you are looking for Hebrew Bible passages that pair well with the Gospel texts, or Psalms for responsive readings, go with the second.
- During Eastertide, a reading from Acts is often in the HB slot. Sometimes there is an alternate HB text provided.
- Sometimes there are all of these: alternate readings, longer versions, and the two tracks of the Propers. In these cases where it can be difficult to discern how to pair readings, I have tried to include a note with an explanation in the page itself. But generally speaking, when there is more than one text in the same slot, it is an or, not an and. If it’s too hairy to untangle, go to Vanderbilt’s website, where I got all this info to begin with.
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https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/