Bishop Eric Menees
In my pre-Thanksgiving Bishop’s Note, I wrote about the
Collect of the Day. I received one note asking if the Collects were just the
same as those from the 1979 BCP. The answer is no, they are not. Where the ’79
BCP used the collects of Archbishop Cranmer, they were kept; but where they did
not, those original to Cranmer were added. Thus, the order of the Collects is
slightly different.
As we continue our examination of the 2019 BCP, we move from
the Collect of the Day to the Liturgy of the Word – the reading of the Old
Testament lesson, the Psalm, the New Testament Lesson, and the Gospel. There
are, of course, similarities and differences between the 1979 & 2019 BCP
Lectionary. The Lectionary is the organization of the scriptures into readings
for the Weekly Eucharist or the Daily Office.
Rather than me explaining the Lectionary, I thought we’d go
to the “horse’s mouth” and I’d share with you an interview of Archbishop
Duncan, Chair of the Liturgical Task Force, on the subject as found on the ACNA
website – www.anglicanchurch.net
Q. As the Anglican Church in North America continues to
grow, many new members have not used a lectionary before in their daily
worship. Can you explain what the Daily Lectionary is and why it is part of the
Book of Common Prayer?
A. The Daily Office Lectionary is designed to help Anglicans
read through the entire Bible every year. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, in the
first Book of Common Prayer, incorporated the daily lectionary in order that
“the whole of the Bible or the greatest part thereof” might be read in common
in every household and every parish church in the realm.
Q. We often hear the term “Church Year” used. What is the
Church Year and how do the readings reflect the different seasons of the year?
A. The seasons of the Christian (or Church) Year enable
believers to follow the events of Jesus’ life—Advent to Ascension—and the
content of his teaching—the long Pentecost (Trinity) season—in an orderly
progression. The Sunday Lectionary is especially designed to do this in a
three-year cycle of readings. By spreading lessons over three years, much of
Scripture can be read on Sundays.
Following patterns established in the earliest Christian
centuries, Old Testament readings on Sundays are chosen for their
fore-shadowing of the day’s gospel passage. The Daily Lectionary is less
connected to the seasons, allowing for seriatim reading of the books of the
Bible. Feasts (“red-letter days”) associated with specific calendar dates,
recalling New Testament figures or events, break into both cycles with special
readings and prayers relevant to the observance.
Q. The readings in the lectionary are from both the Old and
New Testaments, but it also includes some readings from the Apocrypha. What is
the Apocrypha and why is it included in the Daily Office Lectionary?
A. Both the Anglican and Lutheran Reformations retained the
use of books found in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), but not found in
the Hebrew Bible. Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles states “the Church
doth read [these books] for example of life and instruction of manners, but yet
it doth not apply them to establish any doctrine.” Two of the most common canticles at Morning
Prayer—the Benedicite, omnia opera Domine and the Benedictus es, Domine—come
from the Apochrypha.
Q. Past lectionaries have been criticized for skipping over
some parts of the Bible that some might find uncomfortable. How has the new
lectionary addressed these concerns?
A. So-called “uncomfortable passages” eliminated from the
Daily Office Lectionary of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer have all been
restored. Furthermore, the most
egregious omission of the Sunday lectionary—the second half of Romans, chapter
1—is now assigned to the Third Sunday of Lent (alongside John 4) in Year A.
I pray you all a very blessed week!
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