The three-year programme of readings

As more and more denominations have adopted what is essentially the same lectionary, each has enriched the range of available material by adding its own variations and additional options. As a result, the various editions of the lectionary, and various lectionary resources, can end up being not quite 100% compatible.

When selecting from the options and variations on offer, SSRA consistently prioritises the systematic reading of the gospels and epistles for the year, reducing interruptions and omissions to a minimum.

Read more about compatibility, options and variations here ►

The 34 Sundays of Ordinary Time are hugely important, forming the Main Programme for the year. The original Latin is Tempus per annum, and a better translation might have been Season Throughout The Year, or the more formal Ordered Time or Ordinal Time. The negative nuance of the word ‘ordinary’ in English, and the confusing blizzard of different names given to these Sundays in other lectionaries, have too often distracted from the vital role of every one of these sets of readings in the lectionary’s systematic study of the whole of scripture.

‘Kept in real time’ – Easter weekend follows the first full moon after the spring equinox (21 March). That full moon could be any time from 21 March to 18 April, and Easter Day is the Sunday following, which is why the date of Easter varies by up to five weeks.

‘Trinity Sunday to reflect on it all’ – Trinity Sunday is not randomly placed in the year; the doctrine of the Trinity (amongst many other things) is a great Christian meditation on the events of the Passion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Pentecost.

If you count the number of days in Lent, it’s 46. Sunday is never a day of fasting; it’s always Resurrection Day, a day of joy. That includes the six Sundays of Lent - leaving forty weekdays for any Lenten fast. These are the readings for the joyful anticipation of the triumph of Easter - and the Easter season beyond.

It is worth using the table above as a guide to the readings through the Lent and Easter seasons. On the First Sunday of Lent, Jesus’ time in the wilderness provides the Gospel reading, but there is a different theme each year that links the first two readings together. On the second Sunday of Lent, Moses and Elijah feature in the Gospels of the Tranfiguration, and Abraham features in the accompanying readings. Lent continues with three weeks of readings from John (or Luke), from the history of Israel and the prophets, and from the epistles (including Hebrews) on salvation in Christ.

Between Easter and Pentecost, for the first reading we read from the Acts of the Apostles. For the second reading, we read from 1 Peter in Year A, 1 John in Year B, and Revelation in Year C. For the Gospel, we cover the resurrection appearances in just two more Sundays after Easter Day itself. Good Shepherd Sunday follows, with a different reading from John 10 each year. There are then three Sundays on which we prepare for Pentecost with Jesus’ teachings and prayers for the future church – different sections each year from John 13-17.

Many different traditions persist about the themes of the four Sundays of Advent, but the themes in all versions of the three‑year lectionary are

Advent 1: The Advent Hope
Advent 2: John the Baptist
Advent 3: John the Baptist
Advent 4: Mary

For Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Ascension Day, SSRA provides different readings for each year of the three‑year cycle. The Maundy Thursday readings are themed: in Year A, the Lamb of God; in Year B, service to others (the washing of the disciples’ feet); and in Year C, the Bread of Life.