Churchy Q&A: How do you know what Scriptures to read at church?

In the Episcopal Church, we follow a Eucharistic lectionary, which tells us which texts to read on Sundays and on other holy days. There are three years in our lectionary, and over the course of those three years we'll have heard most of the New Testament and large portions of the Old Testament.

The texts are chosen to support the liturgical year and season and to harmonize with one another. For example, because we are in Advent, we're reading texts that speak to the birth of Jesus at Christmas and to the coming of Christ in the future. The texts anticipate these events, and allow the preacher to construct a sermon around them.

The Episcopal lectionary suggests readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament writings, and the Gospels for each Sunday. At the chaplaincy, we always read the Gospel and the Psalm, with the lesson drawn from either the Old Testament or the New Testament. The preacher chooses which lesson text to use, based on the themes of the sermon.

Bonus: Curious about if/when a particular passage will be read? Click here!