This is the Narrative Lectionary developed by Rolf Jacobson and Craig Koester.[1]
Narrative Lectionary 1: 2010 – 2011
| Fall – Old Testament | ||||
| 12-Sep | Pentecost 16 | Genesis 12:1-4 | Abraham and Sarah | |
| 19-Sep | Pentecost 17 | Genesis 28:10-22 | Jacob | |
| 26-Sep | Pentecost 18 | Genesis 50:15-26 | Joseph | |
| 3-Oct | Pentecost 19 | Exodus 2:23-3:12 | Moses and Exodus | |
| 10-Oct | Pentecost 20 | Exodus 19:3-6; 20:1-21 | Covenant and Law | |
| 17-Oct | Pentecost 21 | Numbers 14:1-25 | Wilderness | |
| 24-Oct | Pentecost 22 | Judges 4:1-16 | Deborah | |
| 31-Oct | Reformation | 1 Sam 16:1-13 or 2 Sam 7:1-17 | David | |
| 7-Nov | All Saints | 1 Kings 3:3-15; 11:1-13 | Solomon | |
| 14-Nov | Pentecost 25 | 1 Kings 18:20-39 | Elijah and Ahab | |
| 21-Nov | Christ the King | Amos 5:1-5; 14-15; 21-24 | Amos | |
| 28-Nov | Advent 1 | Isaiah 9:1-7 | Isaiah | |
| 5-Dec | Advent 2 | Jeremiah 7:1-15; 31:31-34 | Jeremiah | |
| 12-Dec | Advent 3 | Ezekiel 37:1-14 | Exile: Ezekiel | |
| 19-Dec | Advent 4 | Nehemiah 8:1-18 | Return: Ezra and Nehemiah | |
|
Winter and Spring – New Testament
|
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| 24-Dec 25-Dec | Christmas Eve/Day | Luke 2:1-20 | Birth of Jesus | |
| 26-Dec | Christmas 1 | John 1:1-18 | Word made flesh | |
| 2-Jan | Christmas 2 | John 1:19-34 | John the Baptist | |
| 9-Jan | Epiphany | John 1:35-51 | Call of the disciples | |
| 16-Jan | Epiphany 2 | John 2:1-11 | Wedding at Cana | |
| 23-Jan | Epiphany 3 | John 2:13-25 | Cleansing the Temple | |
| 30-Jan | Epiphany 4 | John 3:1-21 | Nicodemus | |
| 6-Feb | Epiphany 5 | John 4:1-42 | Woman at the well | |
| 13-Feb | Epiphany 6 | John 4:46-54 | Healing the official’s son | |
| 20-Feb | Epiphany 7 | John 5:1-18 | Healing at Bethesda | |
| 27-Feb | Epiphany 8 | John 6:1-21 | Feeding 5000 | |
| 6-Mar | Transfiguration | John 8:12-20 | Light of the world | |
| 13-Mar | Ash Wednesday | John 8:31-38 | Bondage to sin | |
| 13-Mar | Lent 1 | John 9:1-41 | Healing the blind man | |
| 20-Mar | Lent 2 | John 10:1-10 | Jesus as the door/gate | |
| 27-Mar | Lent 3 | John 10:11-18 | Good shepherd | |
| 3-Apr | Lent 4 | John 11:1-44 | Raising Lazarus | |
| 10-Apr | Lent 5 | John 11:45-52 | Plot to kill Jesus | |
| or 12:1-8 | Mary anoints Jesus | |||
| 17-Apr | Palm Sunday | John 12:12-26 | Triumphal Entry | |
| 21-Apr | Maundy Thursday | John 18:1-27 | Betrayal | |
| or 19:1-16a | Jesus and Pilate | |||
| 22-Apr | Good Friday | John 19:16b-30 | Crucifixion | |
| 24-Apr | Easter | John 20:1-18 | Resurrection | |
| 1-May | Easter 1 | Acts 2 | Pentecost | |
| 8-May | Easter 2 | Acts 6:1-12; 7:54-60 | Stephen | |
| 15-May | Easter 3 | Acts 9:1-1-19 | Paul and Ananias | |
| 22-May | Easter 4 | Acts 10:1-16 | Peter’s vision | |
| 29-May | Easter 5 | Acts 15:1-17 | Jerusalem council | |
| or 16:16-34 | Paul at Philippi | |||
| 5-Jun | Easter 6 | Acts 17:16-30 | Paul in Athens | |
| 12-Jun | Easter 7 | Acts 21:17, 27-30; 25:10-12; 28:16-30 | Paul’s arrest and journey to Rome | |
Narrative Lectionary 2: 2011-2012
| Sunday, September 11, 2011 | Creation | Gen 1:1-2:4a; or 1:1-5, 26-2:4a |
| Sunday, September 18, 2011 | Abraham and Sarah | Gen 18:1-15; 21:1-7 |
| Sunday, September 25, 2011 | Joseph in Egypt | Gen 39:1-23 |
| Sunday, October 02, 2011 | Exodus | Exod 1:1-22; 16:1-8 |
| Sunday, October 09, 2011 | Law | Deut 5:1-22; 6:4-9 |
| Sunday, October 16, 2011 | Ruth | Ruth 1:1-22 |
| Sunday, October 23, 2011 | David | 1 Sam 16:1-13 & Ps 51:1-10 |
| Sunday, October 30, 2011 | Solomon builds the Temple | 1 Kgs 5:1-5, 12-13; 8:1-6, 27-30 |
| Sunday, November 06, 2011 | Elijah at Horeb | 1 Kgs 19:1-18 |
| Sunday, November 13, 2011 | Hosea | Hos 6:1-6; 11:1-9 |
| Sunday, November 20, 2011 | Isaiah | Isa 1:12-20; 2:1-6a |
| Sunday, November 27, 2011 | Josiah | 2 Kgs 22:1-18a, 20; 23:1-3 |
| Sunday, December 04, 2011 | Jeremiah | Jer 18:1-11 |
| Sunday, December 11, 2011 | Daniel | Dan 3:1-30 |
| Sunday, December 18, 2011 | Malachi | Mal 3:1-7; 4:1-2, 5 |
| Saturday, December 24, 2011 | Christmas Eve | Luke 2:1-20 |
| Sunday, December 25, 2011 | Christmas Day | Matt 1:18-25 |
| Sunday, January 01, 2012 | John the Baptist and beginning of Jesus’ ministry |
Mark 1:1-20 |
| Sunday, January 08, 2012 | People who meet Jesus (paralytic, tax collectors etc) | Mark 2:1-22 |
| Sunday, January 15, 2012 | Parables about sowing and growing seeds | Mark 4:1-34 |
| Sunday, January 22, 2012 | Gerasene demoniac | Mark 5:1-20 |
| Sunday, January 29, 2012 | Jesus heals Jairus’ daughter and a woman | Mark 5:21-43 |
| Sunday, February 05, 2012 | Jesus rejected, sends the 12, John beheaded | Mark 6:1-29 |
| Sunday, February 12, 2012 | What defiles a person | Mark 7:1-23 |
| Sunday, February 19, 2012 | Transfiguration Sunday – Peter’s confession & transfiguration |
Mark 8:27-9:13 |
| Wednesday, February 22, 2012 | Ash Wed – Passion prediction, who is the greatest |
Mark 9:30-50 |
| Sunday, February 26, 2012 | Rich young ruler | Mark 10:17-31 |
| Sunday, March 04, 2012 | Parable of the tenants | Mark 12:1-12 |
| Sunday, March 11, 2012 | The great commandment | Mark 12:28-34 |
| Sunday, March 18, 2012 | Scribes and the widow | Mark 12:38-44 |
| Sunday, March 25, 2012 | The close of the age | Mark 13:1-12 [14-31] 32-37 |
| Sunday, April 01, 2012 |
Palm Sunday – entry to Jerusalem | Mark 11:1-10 |
| and/or | ||
| Anointing at Bethany & preparation for betrayal | Mark 14:3-11 | |
| Thursday, April 05, 2012 | Maundy Thursday – [26-50 prayer in Gethsemane & arrest] | Mark 14:12-25 |
| Friday, April 06, 2012 | Good Friday – Crucifixion | Mark 15:16-47 |
| Sunday, April 08, 2012 | Easter | Mark 16:1-8 |
| Sunday, April 15, 2012 | Resurrection message in Jerusalem (through word and healing) |
Acts 3:1-26 |
| Sunday, April 22, 2012 | Outreach at Antioch and beyond | Acts 11:19-27 and 13:1-3 |
| Sunday, April 29, 2012 | Paul at Lystra | Acts 14:8-18 |
| Sunday, May 06, 2012 | Church at Thessalonica | Acts 17:1-9 and 1 Thess 1:1-10 |
| Sunday, May 13, 2012 | Churches in Galatia | Galatians 1:1-9; 5:1-6, 13-14 |
| Sunday, May 20, 2012 | Church at Corinth | Acts 18:1-17 and 1 Cor 1:10-18 |
| Sunday, May 27, 2012 | Pentecost – Gifts of the Spirit | 1Cor 12:1-11 |
[1] http://narrativelectionary.wordpress.com/about-2/the-readings/, accessed March 3, 2011. “Narrative Lectionary 2” from Dan Smith, email correspondence, April 19, 2011. Used by permission.
9 comments
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Thomas Steenberg
August 17, 2011 at 1:26 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I am a retired ELCA pastor, 50 yrs in the ministry, 35 in Japan.
Just heard about this Narrative Lectionary. However, for my MTh at Princeton Sem my thesis was: “the Apostles’ Creed and other Viable Options for Preaching the Christian Year.” Dr. Donald Macleod, who was the Chair of the Preaching and Worship at that time told me that he had tried to get his church to do something like this. This was in May of 1891. This church year began in the fall as well. If you are interested in this I would be glad to share.
Blessings on your ministry,
Tom
Eric Lemonholm
August 18, 2011 at 11:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Tom – that sounds very interesting! I would definitely be interested in reading more about that – and including something about it on this website (with permission of course!).
I am also an ELCA pastor, and attended Princeton for the M.Div.
Tom Steenerg
September 11, 2012 at 5:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Whoa! Just found that I had been ‘posted.’ (?) The year was divided into 4 quarters. Preaching in an English congregation and also a Japanese congregation: that year there were 13 sundays in each quarter. The first quarter began the 1st Sunday in September & went up to Advent. Using the 1st article of the Creed “God, the Father.”
From Advent Sunday to the Lenten season the theme for the 2nd quarter was: “GOD, THE SON INCARNATE.” From the 2nd Article: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary;”
The 3rd quarter began with Ash Wed (1st Sunday in Lent), using the rest of the 2nd Article “…Suffered under Pontius Pilate…..” Theme: GOD, THE SON REDEMPTIVE” and ran to Pentecost.
4th quarter began with Pentecost, theme: (GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT” and ran thru the summer to September. If you wish more info…
Laura Johnson
February 23, 2013 at 12:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Tom,
I am interested in more info about your “Apostles’ Creed and other Viable Options for Preaching the Christian Year” MTh work. I want to reference this document in my D.Min. final project report. My topic is alternative lectionaries.
Thanks,
Laura
Tom Steenerg
September 11, 2012 at 6:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Whoa! Just noticed that I was ‘posted.’ (9/11/12) Our church year began with the 1st Sunday in September, using the 1st Article of the Apostles’ Creed. Theme: GOD ,THE FATHER: and ran up to 1st Sunday in Advent. The 2nd quarter began with 1st Sunday in Advent & ran to Ash Wed (1Sunday in Lent) Theme: GOD, THE SON INCARNATE. The 3rd quarter, beginning with the 1Sunday in Lent running to Pentecost. Theme: GOD, THE SON REDEMPTIVE. 4th quarter, the 3rd article, from Pentecost to September Theme: GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you wish more info…
Eric Lemonholm
September 12, 2012 at 9:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I am definitely interested – I’ll contact you, Tom.
Jim Schack
August 18, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Particpated in the Narrative Lectionary webinar. Plan to use N L starting in September. How do I get info on the various helps available for each Sunday?
Jim
Eric Lemonholm
August 18, 2011 at 11:41 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You should be able to navigate to
for helps and podcasts in the near future. The official site for the Narrative Lectionary is
Eric Lemonholm
July 19, 2013 at 1:16 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Now, the Narrative Lectionary has its own place on Working Preacher: http://www.workingpreacher.org/