Year Of Tha Boomerang

Advent.  Although I grew up in church, that word was not even in my vocabulary until only a couple of years ago.   And not until last year did it truly begin to influence the shape of my holiday season.  It was a monumental shift, both for me personally as well as pastorally.  A shift which began in a void.  An empty space in my mind heart that was supposed to be filled with Scriptures, reflections, questions, images, and prayers that were to be crafted into sermons.  But I was coming up dry.  I had nothing.  Fumbling in the dark.  A preacher unsure of what to say.  Oh, snap.

Thankfully, there was light--I have a wife who was raised Episcopalian.  She, with her long history and deep appreciation for liturgy was able to escort me gently into the strange, new world of the Lectionary.  In case you're about as uninformed as I was then, I'll sum up like this: The Lectionary is a three-year-long collection of Scriptures, grouped and arranged more or less thematically throughout the various seasons of the year.  It's a guide, a Shirpa leading us up the craggy edifices of Scripture.  I found it to be such a helpful, guide, in fact, that I tested it out for the first quarter of 2011.  That first quarter turned into the entire year.  A wonderful year.

For me, the Lectionary became another door through which to enter the strangely wonderful world of the Bible.  It felt like being a kid again, another Dukes of Hazard phase when I had to get in and out of my parents' green Plymouth Duster through the window.  Sometimes the old doors get.....well...old.  The window is so much more fun.

So now it's Advent again.  The cycle continues; a new year begins.  Back around like a boomerang.  Whereas at this time twelve months ago I was uncertain of just what reading and preaching through the Lectionary would feel like, this year I'm excited. The edifices are still craggy, but the guide has become such a good friend.

Now down to earth.  Here are a few, briefly stated lessons I've learned from preaching through the Lectionary for a year.  A few reasons why I've loved it.  If you're a Bible reader, maybe this will entice you to try this door out for a while.  If you're a preacher, may I recommend this to you for the inevitable day when you, too, feel empty.

1. It forces me to deal squarely with Scriptures I might otherwise avoid. Let's be honest--the Bible has a tendency to make us uncomfortable, for one reason or another.  Yet there is great reward in allowing ourselves to feel uncomfortable, to accept that challenge, to wade through murky, frightful waters.  "Safety," I'm finding, is actually a value that often points us away from good interactions with God and Scripture.

2. It makes me preach on topics that I might otherwise not even consider.  Again, let's be honest--there are certain topics that we'd all rather not hear a preacher talk about.  ("Don't tell me how to manage my money!")  And as a preacher I can attest that the feeling is often even more dreadful for the preachers themselves.  ("I don't want to sound like a salesman just trying to get your money!")  But listen we must, and preach we must.  The Lectionary steers me away from "pet topics," which are usually, as the term implies, quite domesticated.

3. It connects Scriptures with other often unexpected Scriptures.  Each week consists of a Psalm, an OT reading, a NT reading, and a Gospel reading--all carefully selected for shared connections and themes that might not be obvious at first.  Consider this a form of built-in "cross-referencing." For me, it's just plain fun placing the texts on top of one another, holding them up to the light, and seeing what shines through.

4. It takes the guess-work out of Scripture selection.  My heritage in Scripture selection is this: Listen to God regarding what he wants to say to the people, then choose a text that says that.  ("I want to preach on having faith...how on earth am I going to narrow down that myriad of texts?!")  That's a gross oversimplification, but you get the idea.  Now I'm doing the reverse: Read the texts and ask God what he's saying through them. ("I'm reading James1:5-8...looks like I'm preaching on increasing faith!") This all leads quite naturally to the first three I just mentioned, and paves the way for the last one...

5. It gives me more creative freedom.  The time and energy that I've often spent simply deciding which of the myriad of texts to choose from, I now spend on the art and craft of communication.  The insights, difficult questions, the stories, the metaphors, the visuals--all of the things a preacher employs to make the Scriptures come alive.  It's true that specific boundaries often create more powerful expressions.  And this, honestly, might be the biggest gift the Lectionary has given me, a gift I'm not about to give up any time soon.