tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post3943428605278461545..comments2024-02-04T15:37:04.216-08:00Comments on Dim Lamp Two: Thoughts about Preaching on the Revised Common LectionaryDim Lamphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10272261331424170492noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-11845649077329216242008-03-11T05:07:00.000-07:002008-03-11T05:07:00.000-07:00Thanks Eric for your contribution to this discussi...Thanks Eric for your contribution to this discussion. Yes, the Word of God calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the Churches into a deeper unity in Christ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-59828631390468520602008-03-10T07:53:00.000-07:002008-03-10T07:53:00.000-07:00Very interesting! I am really in my first go arou...Very interesting! I am really in my first go around as a weekly preacher with the RCL, and the idea of sermon series during the summer months is wise.<BR/><BR/>You've got me thinking - I am going to look ahead in the Lectionary, see what's overdone, see what's missing, and perhaps put in some special sermon topics/series. I do think of the RCL as more of a guide and an ecumenical bridge between churches. As preachers, we have to do our homework and be flexible, and remember that the RCL is not Scripture itself.ELemonholmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03831747124961264719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-13075800672035868002008-03-08T06:24:00.000-08:002008-03-08T06:24:00.000-08:00Thanks Bart for your most eloquent reply. I agree ...Thanks Bart for your most eloquent reply. I agree with you, and say Amen! <BR/><BR/>I have heard the rationale given for the first lesson not linking to the gospel as: the committee who chose the pericopes employed the criteria of continuous OT stories over and above emphasising complimentary motifs in the pericopes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending this, only stating what I've read and heard on the matter. I can appreciate the advantages of hearing the whole story over jumping around all over the place without much continuity. I wonder on some Sundays how the pericopes link together, if at all. <BR/><BR/>Your point on 2 is well taken--alas, sometimes it seems we may be selling our souls to the devil in the name of political correctness! <BR/><BR/>I, like you grow weary at times of the overkill on some motifs and the avoidance-overlooking of others! That's likely one reason why I choose to preach series sermons for a while—and yes, point well taken, Thielicke has been, and still is an inspiration to many a preacher. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again Bart, and happy preaching! <BR/><BR/>Dim Lamp TwoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-68552441694405541962008-03-08T06:02:00.000-08:002008-03-08T06:02:00.000-08:00I like what you have to say. I agree with the posi...I like what you have to say. I agree with the positive things about the lectionary. However I too have some problems with it, many of the same as you. <BR/> <BR/>1) They leave out certain texts -- why? For instance, how many passages on wisdom and the need for it are found in the lectionary? Compare that to the number of passages on Wisdom and the need for it in the Bible itself. Wisdom in the Bible is a huge theme. In the lectionary it isn't.<BR/> <BR/>2) They skip various verses in the middle of texts. The ELCIC lectionary is especially bad that way. This summer in the middle of a Revelation passage the ELCIC group skipped a reference condemning the sexually immoral, whereas that passage was included in the LBW lectionary. Again the choosy-ness of these passages reflects the theological biases of the ELCIC's lectionary committee.<BR/> <BR/>3) Sometimes the OT text is not an accurate link to the gospel one. For instance, while doing my ThM I studied John 4 for a summer. Most scholars say that the real OT precedent for that text is a) the passages where the OT heroes met their wives at wells. Then the contrast is with Jesus who discovers that his "wife" to be has had 5 husbands. And b) the passage in Hosea 2 where the people of Samaria, portrayed as a woman who has had many different lovers, are brought out into the desert and fed real water by her true husband Yahweh God. In other words John 4 is a fulfilment of the OT prophecy of Hosea 2. The woman represents her people, the people of Samaria, deserted by their lovers, and Jesus represents God. <BR/> <BR/>But one totally misses that fact if the Lectionary folks put Exodus 17 opposite John 4, which they do. <BR/><BR/>4) Sometimes the lectionary group does overkill. Year B during the summer is the worst. Is it 5 or 6 Sundays in a row on the breaking of the bread miracle in John? Also the number of passages on John the Baptist in and around Advent, Christmas & Epiphany, is a bit much too. <BR/> <BR/>I agree, in general the lectionary is a good thing but we should feel free to choose our own passages too.<BR/><BR/>Yes I'm all for series sermons too. If a great preacher and theologian like Thielicke can do it, then we can too. <BR/><BR/>Pastor Bart ErikssonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-57238976904511085622008-03-07T18:35:00.000-08:002008-03-07T18:35:00.000-08:00Point well taken Gene. Political correctness can i...Point well taken Gene. Political correctness can inhibit maturity and growth in our faith and preaching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610267099066306914.post-14371503743476788232008-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:002008-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:00My main beef with the RCL is the way whoever prepa...My main beef with the RCL is the way whoever prepares it "protects" me from passages which are not politically correct. I find that offensive. I heard of a guy who makes a point of preaching on the verses which are left out.Gene Packwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10483295706056528789noreply@blogger.com