If you go to a mainline Protestant or Catholic church, you have probably noticed a pattern. You sit in the pew, you open the bulletin, and you see a list of Bible readings for that specific day. Whether you are in a Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Catholic church, you are likely hearing the same stories as millions of other people around the world at that exact same time.

This system is called the lectionary. It is a schedule that assigns specific Bible passages to be read on specific days. We are about to enter a new cycle called Year A starting this Advent.

I remember one specific Sunday when I was serving pulpit supply for Pastor Kristin Hutson. I looked at the schedule to see what reading was appointed for that day. It was a very difficult passage. It was one of those texts that makes you uncomfortable and is hard to explain to a congregation.

Honestly, I was tempted to change it. I could have easily chosen to read a different part of the Bible and preach on that instead. It would have been safer and much easier to write.

One thing my Jesuit education taught me was that we who are tasked with preaching should not skip the difficult parts of the Bible. Instead, we are supposed to break into them. We are supposed to wrestle with them until we can make them make sense.

I stuck with the assigned reading that Sunday. It was a challenge, but that is exactly what the lectionary is for. It challenges preachers to treat every part of the Bible as significant. It forces us to believe that every part has a reason and needs to be proclaimed, even the parts that are hard to swallow.

That experience highlights exactly why we use a lectionary. You can think of it like a balanced diet for a church. If a pastor chose their own readings every single week, they might accidentally stick to their favorite topics. They might preach often on love and comfort but skip the difficult passages about judgment or sacrifice.

The lectionary forces the church to read the Bible broadly. Over a three-year cycle, a church will read through the vast majority of the New Testament and the most significant parts of the Old Testament. It ensures that we hear the whole story of God and not just the parts we like best.

It also creates unity. On any given Sunday, a person sitting with me at Edgewater Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and someone sitting at Good Shepherd Catholic Cathedral in Singapore or Good Shepherd Methodist Church in Warsaw, Poland, are likely reflecting on the same stories of Jesus. This reminds us that we are part of one large and global family.

The lectionary is divided into three years simply named Year A, Year B, and Year C. Each year focuses on one of the three main writers of the Gospels. We are entering Year A, which is the year of Matthew. Starting in Advent, your pastor or priest will primarily preach from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew wrote his version of the story largely for a Jewish audience, so he focuses heavily on how Jesus connects to the history of Israel.

There are a few specific themes you will likely hear this year. First, you will see Jesus presented as the new Moses. In the Old Testament, Moses went up a mountain to receive the Law. In Matthew, Jesus goes up a mountain to give the Sermon on the Mount. You will hear sermons about Jesus as a teacher who gives us a new way to live that fulfills the old laws. You can expect to be challenged to higher standards of anger, forgiveness, and love.

You will also hear about the Kingdom of Heaven. While other Gospel writers call it the Kingdom of God, Matthew usually calls it the Kingdom of Heaven. He speaks of it as a reality that is invading our present world. You will hear stories about what this kingdom is like. It is like a mustard seed, a hidden treasure, or a net thrown into the sea. Sermons will ask you to look for God’s rule in the ordinary and small things of life.

Another major theme is the promise that God is with us. Matthew frames his entire book with this idea. In the beginning, Jesus is called Emmanuel which means God with us. In the very last verse, Jesus tells his friends that He is with them always. Finally, you will hear about judgment and action. Matthew includes serious warnings about how we live, like the story of the sheep and the goats. Sermons in Year A often emphasize that faith is not just what you think or feel, but what you actually do.

The lectionary is a tool that keeps the church healthy. It keeps us balanced. As we enter Year A, we are invited to walk with Jesus through the eyes of Matthew. It will be a year of learning from the Great Teacher. It will be a year where we are challenged to act with compassion in the world. And as I learned that Sunday in the pulpit, it is a year to face the difficult parts of our faith head-on.

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