The Lectionary.
A lectionary is a list of readings. As a spiritual discipline, a person may simply open The Bible at the beginning, and start reading. They might read a chapter or more each day. The weakness of this kind of reading is that it is the reading style of our time, the method for reading a novel, or even a text book. It assumes a narrative thread from beginning to end. However, a text book is often not read from cover to cover. It may be designed as a resource with discrete sections to be consulted at appropriate times.
The Bible is even less novel-like. With 39 "books" in the Hebrew Scriptures, and 27 in the Christian Scriptures, there are multiple authors, times, geographic locations, and theological perspectives represented. This considers only the main collection (Canon) of the books common to most Christian traditions. There are also the books not present in the Hebrew Scriptures or "Old Testament" which are often known as the deutero-canonical books. How does one read all this and make sense of it?
Christian groups have traditionally created lists of texts that are considered important to read. They sketch out some of the key planks of that group's tradition, and its understanding of the Christian faith.
One well known modern lectionary is the Revised Common Lectionary, which is used by many churches world wide. It divides the bible over a three year period, based around the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The readings are chosen to reflect the cycle of church year as it progresses from the hope for a Messiah (Advent), through Christmas, and on to Easter. Each week also has a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Psalms, and from the letters of the New Testament. The Gospel of John is used in each year around the times of the major festivals. There are often readings assigned for special days which do not occur on a Sunday.
Many ministers preach from a lectionary. It provides a discipline which works against the temptation to avoid uncomfortable subjects and concentrate on favourite themes.
A lectionary provides an overview of the Christian tradition. Unfortunately, it also represents a particular theological and historical outlook. Some people point out, for example, that women's stories, often already marginalised in Scripture are further submerged by the RCL . The lectionary is also constructed of short readings, excerpts from the whole, so that some parts of the bible will never be read in public worship under this scheme. It also means that the wider flow of a narrative is interrupted, and perhaps divided in ways never anticipated by the authors. In their own devotions, many people will at least read from the end of the previous week's readings to the end of the designated readings of the current week, in some attempt to overcome this disintegration of the narrative.
What cost life?
by Toni Seger. In this article Seger begs the question of what we do by needlessly extending life. Any pet owner relate to this...
I had to put my dog, Julia, to sleep recently leaving a vast cavern in my heart where she used to live, but her death was a positive act and I'm grateful for that. All the quality in Julia's life had ended and this was the last act of responsible ownership I could deliver. Julia had been an incredibly fast runner with an amazing ability to corner and feint that would have earned her admiration from a star quarterback. On the last day of her life, struggling to breathe, she couldn't walk. As my husband, Tim, carried her to the car, we promised her she wouldn't suffer much longer.
I'm not saying euthanasia can't be abused. Anything can be abused. This is a column about its blessings and, by extension, its beauty. Never having witnessed it before, I was amazed at how beautiful it was to see the pain and anxiety that crowded Julia's eyes lift and depart. Even as I lost my dog, she lost the terrible state she was in. Still warm and, finally, at peace, I kissed her goodbye. I'm still suffering, but she isn't anymore and I'm glad of that. Read on >>>>
This is a lovely bit of writing in The Ethical Spectacle. I must say that when we euthanased our 17 year old cat, the death spasms were horrifying; things are not always as peaceful as she experienced. It is not simply a "going to sleep." However, the questions she asks are important ones to consider when we face the idol of prolonging life at any cost that seems prevalent in some quarters. It seems to me that we too easily gloss over the de-humanising effects of machine prolonged life, in the name of humanity. What do you think?
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