Tradition is a scary word for a lot of people. That is understandable. In today’s world tradition gets us into a lot of trouble. Sometimes because traditions are damaging to a particular group of people or segment of a population. More typically we are convinced that the new crowds are right and the old crowds were uninformed, ignorant, and wrong (and we probably both are).
It is also true that not all tradition has value. It can be laborious and unhelpful. It can make us slow and unmoving.
When is unmoving or slow to change good though, if it can be?
At Anchored we do some things that could be seen as boring and what some may call dead. Here are two examples; Liturgy and Lectionary. Those words may sound old fashioned, too traditional, or just a bore. I get it, believe me I really do get it. Liturgy will be for another day but for this post let’s only consider the lectionary.
Lectionary simply means “chosen readings“. It is also the general name given to an organised set readings that are scheduled for a whole year.
There are many reasons to use a lectionary and here are a couple of good reasons:
A Wide Angle View of Scripture
Each week’s reading includes an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, an Epistle, and a Gospel passage. This forces us to come face to face with a breadth of scripture that is all painting one picture. This is important because it protects us from pitting one piece or genre of scripture against another. And it weekly pulls us back into the whole drama of God’s Word which finds its end in Christ.
Seasons of the Christian Year
Some people say that calendars are important. Which if you are one of those strange people who like a be organised and productive then they are. Church calendars have a very important purpose even for us busy, intellectually advanced, and modern people. It pulls us all together from our divergent seasonal and weekly experiences into a cohesive story. It unifies and creates community. It de-centres us selfish individuals and re-centres us as being in Christ and being a part of his body.
Not What We Wanted to Hear
A problem with pastors is that they think they know it all. And in fact we pastors, me included, can get into our own heads and be answering all the wrong questions. The lectionary takes the responsibility of determining what the church needs to hear and does an excellent job of covering the ups and downs of life, sin, and salvation. Then when it is necessary to break away from the organised readings and address a specific question, need, or concern the pastor/preacher can more clearly see and speak to it.
This can be especially rich and meaningful when we can be pointed back to a text of scripture that we have already read and studied and now get to apply. The lectionary opens the Christian’s eyes to whole books of the Bible which may typically get overlooked.
Always Christ Crucified
The last bit that needs to be mentioned concerning our lectionary is the excellent way that each and every week points us directly back to the cross. Christ crucified for you. For the forgiveness of sins. We cannot escape it. We cannot evade it. We cannot replace it. What we need to hear has been wisely built into it.
This wonderful tool is a blessing to the Church and to Anchored Baptist Church in particular.