| Readings for Christmas and Epiphany |
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The Church of England in common with many other churches uses a Calendar of Seasons. With Christmas/Epiphany and Eastertide as the two main seasons of the church year, the calendar not only gives a rhythm to our Christian lives but also ensures that each year we are kept in rememberance of all the aspects of our redemption in Jesus. The Lectionary which we use on Sundays is based on a 3 year cycle. During each of the 3 years the Gospel reading is based on 1 of the 3 Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). The 4th Gospel of John is used during any of the 3 years where John's viewpoint best suits the theme of the Sunday. We are now beginning year B and are reading through Marks's Gospel. This gospel was the first to be written and may be dated about 30 to 40 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. St Paul's began writing his letters earlier and prior to that the stories of Jesus were told from oral tradition. Like the rest of the New Testament, Marks's gospel was written in Koine Greek or 'common Greek'. This was at the time the universal language of the general public of the then Roman Empire. The wide use of this language and its concise vocabulary is a factor which contributed to the rapid spread of the Good News of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire. Readings for Christmas Readings for Epiphany Readings for Epiphany 2 Readings for Epiphany 3 Readings for Epiphany 4 Readings for Candlemas Readings for 2 before Lent Readings for Sunday before Lent |
