About 90% of the time, I really like and appreciate the lectionary. I like the fact that it prevents me from choosing my favorites. I like that we are reading together with many congregations, in a tiny glimpse of the unity of the church. I like the pattern of seasons.
And then there's this month in Year C. Which is the homiletical equivalent of driving along down the freeway and suddenly hitting a dirt road filled with potholes.
But the challenge today has not been the trajectory of the sermon (it's only Tuesday, for heaven's sake) - it's been trying to find a hymn to go with this rich-man-stuck-in-the-flames-of-hell thing. Not to mention last week's frantic attempt to find something to sing after preaching on the dishonest-manager-whom-Jesus-praises extravaganza.
It reminds me of a worship committee meeting a few years ago when, in a search for a hymn to go after the sermon on 'John the Baptist Gets Beheaded Sunday,' one of the committee members suggested O Sacred Head Now Wounded.
Where art thou, O Lectionary People, when it comes time to choose the hymn of the day? Huh?
Not as Digital as I Thought
1 day ago
4 comments:
uh yeah- at least you're brave and preaching the Gospel readings... i was off lectionary completely last week and am going with 1 Timothy this week. Which, judging from the notes in my Bible is a decision I have made before.
call me chicken.
yeah... hymn selection- difficult.
how about "when a poor one"? is that in your hymnal?
it doesn't exactly work, but it's good.
any good social justice hymns in your hymnal?
Update: it was a close call, but we ended up choosing "Christ, Be Our Light" over "Canticle of the Turning." (Both in the "justice, peace" section of the hymnal.)
Here are the verses I liked best:
Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.
Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.
"Christ Be our Light..." great selection! *hurriedly makes note to slip to music director*
It's a little late now for this week, but the Presbyterian church has a great resource called "Call to Worship." It's a journal, and one of the issues each year has the Lectionary laid out with hymn suggestions from many different hymnals for each of the readings, suggested prayer of confession, call to worship, anthems for big choirs and small choirs, music for organ, music for handbells, world music, contemporary music, etc. If you follow the lectionary its a great resource. Unfortunately the minsters at my church don't... hrumph.
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