“Love Your Enemies” Missing from the Lectionary for Ten Years

It is commonly understood by lectionary preachers that some of the texts at the end of the season of Epiphany are skipped some years, because the date of Easter changes each year. [1]  The texts for the last two possible Sundays after the Epiphany, the Eighth (Proper 3, Lectionary 8) and Ninth (Proper 4, Lectionary 9), shift to the beginning of the season after Pentecost when there is no room for them in Epiphany.  The Sixth (Proper 1, Lectionary 6) and Seventh (Proper 2, Lectionary 7) Sundays after Epiphany, however, do not shift; therefore, in many years, the texts for Lectionary 6 and 7 are skipped altogether.  This is made more likely by the fact that in many congregations the last Sunday in Epiphany is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday, with its own set of texts.

Continue reading...