Saint Mark's Lectionary Selections

NOTE for 2026: For Good Friday, the season of Easter, and then for several weeks this fall (Year A), we will be following a trial use lectionary created by the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) – the same ecumenical group that created the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). After consultation with Jewish scholars and in conversation with biblical experts, church historians, and liturgical leaders, CCT has made some adjustments – namely, continuing to include Old Testament readings in Easter season and replacing epistle readings later in the year with passages from the Acts of the Apostles (so we continue to hear that part of the church’s story as well). Since the psalms are chosen to pair with the first reading, these have changed for the Easter season as well.

Here is CCT’s explanation: “For Christians not to read from texts shared with Jews during any season of the year is inherently problematic. God has exercised mercy and has worked deliverance and salvation throughout the biblical story apart from the specific events and dynamics of the passion. Indeed, the early followers of Jesus and the gospel writers, in particular, learned how to interpret Jesus’ life and death as redemptive precisely by looking at what God has been habituated to do with Israel. Those stories were the paradigms of salvation that the gospel writers used to tell their story of Jesus. Therefore, the Consultation recommends alternative readings from the Hebrew Scriptures during Eastertide…”
[Read the full report].

With Bishop LaBelle’s permission, we are taking up CCT’s invitation to use these readings for Year A and provide feedback.