New Beginnings

Before my previous church stopped meeting together, we were attempting to move toward following the liturgical calendar. Because of this, I spent the summer as part of a small group of people that met weekly to discuss the readings from the lectionary in order to help prepare the message for the upcoming Sunday. This was very helpful to me on a personal level because it kept me engaged with scripture. I also loved how several passages from different genres of scripture tied together around common themes. This always inspired a lot of thought for me.

Unfortunately, once our church stopped meeting, I stopped reading. Not just the weekly passages from the lectionary; I will admit I stopped reading the Bible entirely. I have found that having some type of structure-- such as the lectionary-- is very beneficial to me. And at least for now, without that structure to guide me a bit, it is too easy for me to get out of the habit of reading.

Recently I have realized that I truly miss reading scripture. I know most people who have spent time in church have heard that they “should” be reading the Bible; however, I have never been particularly interested in doing something just because people say I "should." My apologies to my parents. ;)

Instead, I realize more and more that I want to read scripture because is helpful and inspiring. When I start reading, I immediately feel how the words of scripture speak to my heart. I remember how it feels to truly worship, to have hope and joy, to feel a connection to something greater than myself.

You may not know this about me, but I’m a sucker for new beginnings. I love new years, new months, even new weeks! So I'm taking advantage of a happy new beginning. The liturgical year begins with Advent, the first Sunday of December. Obviously that has recently begun. However, the Revised Common Lectionary follows a three-year cycle of readings, and the beginning of this month just so happens to also mark the beginning of a  new three-year cycle.

Ahh. I love it!

So... because I miss reading scripture, and because I like having a bit of structure, and because I enjoyed following the lectionary previously, and because this feels like a great time for a new beginning...

I have decided to attempt to not only read the passages from the lectionary each week, but to write about what they have meant to me. A few disclaimers: This is by no means supposed to be a way to tell everyone what the passages should mean to them, and I am certainly making no claims of being a theologian. These posts will simply be my thought processes based on what I have read and what it has said to my heart.

I’m getting a bit of a late start on the posts, so I will post my thoughts on the first three weeks over the next few days, then the posts will be weekly. I hope you’ll get involved! Read along, share your thoughts, and most of all, let scripture speak to you.