Lectionary

Definition and Meaning

A lectionary is a schedule for reading Scripture in fixed portions. The Korean term, seongseo jeonggwa, means "reading Scripture according to appointed lessons," with gwa (課) referring to a set portion. Following the course of the church year, a lectionary designates in advance the passages to be read aloud in worship. Usually four readings are assigned for each Sunday: one from the Old Testament (from Acts during the Easter season), one from the Psalms, one from the Epistles, and one from the Gospels.

The lectionary most widely used among Protestants today is the Revised Common Lectionary, which is arranged in a three-year cycle. Year A centers on the Gospel of Matthew, Year B on the Gospel of Mark, and Year C on the Gospel of Luke, while the Gospel of John is assigned chiefly to the major seasons and feasts. For example, on the First Sunday after Christmas in Year A, the appointed Gospel reading is Matthew 2:13-23, the account of the flight into Egypt.

Biblical and Historical Background

In the Jewish synagogue, portions of the Law and the Prophets were read in sequence every Sabbath. The New Testament records Jesus reading from Isaiah in the synagogue (Luke 4:16-21) and the reading of the Law and the Prophets in a synagogue attended by Paul and his companions (Acts 13:15). The early church likewise read from the Old Testament and the writings of the apostles in worship, and during the Middle Ages individual churches developed their own lists of readings.

The modern lectionary originated with the three-year Order of Readings for Mass issued by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 following the Second Vatican Council. Building on it, several North American Protestant denominations produced the Common Lectionary (1983), and a revised edition was published in 1992.

Practice in Korean Churches

• The Anglican Church of Korea reads Scripture according to its appointed lectionary at the Holy Eucharist.
• The Korean Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap), the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and other denominations are reported to have published worship resources based on the church year and the lectionary or to have encouraged their use. Actual use, however, varies from congregation to congregation and from pastor to pastor.
• In many Presbyterian, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches, the preacher chooses the text for the sermon. Many churches also practice consecutive expository preaching, working through a single book of the Bible from beginning to end. Its proponents regard this approach as better suited to proclaiming a message fitted to the congregation's circumstances and to treating the whole of Scripture in depth.
• Those who use a lectionary point to its advantages: it ensures a balanced reading of the whole of Scripture without bias toward the preacher's preferences, and it allows many churches to worship with the same texts and so experience a sense of unity.

Beyond determining the passages for Scripture reading in worship, lectionaries are sometimes also used for daily Bible reading by individuals and families.