More Good Stuff Found by Norm: Lectionary Summaries available from the LCMS Commission on Worship
The following came across the LCMS News service a few days ago.
Check out the new lectionary summaries for Advent Series C and One-Year Series lectionaries available at:
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=16073
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENTJeremiah 33:14–161 Thessalonians 3:9–13Luke 19:28–40or Luke 21:25–36The Lord Jesus Comes in Humility to Redeem UsThe Season of Advent focuses on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this first Sunday establishes this theme for the rest of the season. The Son of God came long ago to be our Savior, “a righteous Branch,” descended from David (Jer. 33:15). As He then came into Jerusalem, riding on a lowly donkey to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world (Luke 19:28-40), so does He come to His Church today in the humility of Word and Sacrament to deliver the fruits of His Passion: the forgiveness of sins. He absolves us and establishes our hearts, “blameless in holiness before our God and Father” (1 Thess. 3:13). The same Lord Jesus, who came to Jerusalem then, and who comes to us now in peace, will come again with power and great glory on the Last Day. Then there will be “distress of nations in perplexity,” with “people fainting in fear.” Yet, as we anticipate that great and terrible day, He bids us to rest securely in Him: “Raise up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:25, 26, 28).
These Lectionary Summaries are designed to be included in Sunday bulletins for worshippers to read prior to the service. As such, they provide a thematic summary of the readings for each Sunday and festival, as well as a description of how the readings fit into the particular season of the Church Year, where appropriate.
These summaries are provided free of charge and may be edited as needed for local use. They will normally be posted two to four weeks in advance. They are provided for both the three- and one-year series.
This is an excellent way to help laity understand the beauty that we have in the lectionary — going through the life of Christ through the church year.
Many members do not get a chance to read the bulletin prior to the service. I wonder if these summaries might be useful for a “Looking Forward to Next Week” section of the bulletin, i.e., putting in the summary for the following week’s readings.
This also would show the continuity and beauty of the lectionary.