Year D - Lectionary for Advent and Christmastide

[The Liturgist]

Year D is an attempt by Rev. Dr. Timothy Matthew Slemmons to fix the deficiencies of the Revised Common Lectionary, and I would argue he somewhat succeeded, albeit in some cases the chosen pericopdes are a bit odd (in order to avoid duplicating lessons from from years A, B and C). Back in 2022-2023 I intended to post Year D in its entirety, once each Sunday, but conditions did not permit this, alas, so here we are, although i shall be posting these lections periodically.

Before beginning I should note that while Year D is corrective of many of the faults with the Revised Common Lectionary, it is not a panacea; a much better option is simply to revert to the traditional one year lectionary common, with minor variations, to most of the Western Church, which also has substantial commonality with the lectionaries used by the rest of the Western Church (chiefly, the Ambrosian Rite in Milan, which has always had an Old Testament lection in addition to an Epistle and Gospel and a Gradual Psalm and Alleluia, among other propers, in the Eucharistic liturgy, a trait shared with the other ancient Western liturgies of Gallican heritage such as the disused Gallican Rite and the Mozarabic RIte, which is celebrated in Toledo, Spain, in one chapel of the cathedral and a nearby monastery and which has also seen some use by Anglicans, Old Catholics and Western Rite Orthodox(, and also those of the East (the Byzantine Rite lectionary of the Eastern Orthodox, the East Syriac lectionary, with its substantial parallels to the primary Jewish lectionary, used by the persecuted Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East and Chaldean Catholics of Iraq and the increasingly persecuted Syro-Malabar Catholics of India, and the Oriental Orthodox liturgies of the persecuted Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Indian Orthodox, Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox and Eritrean Tewahedo Orthodox churches. All of these ancient churches use one year lectionaries; prior to the mid 20th century the idea of a three year lectionary was unheard of in Christianity (with only some Jewish synagogues in the Holy Land using such an approach, but we have no evidence to confirm the antiquity of this practice).

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – ️ First Sunday of Advent
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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️ First Sunday of Advent
Theme: Warning, Promise, and the Neglect of the Fear of the LORD

Old Testament: Malachi 1:1–14
Psalm: Psalm 18:1–50
Epistle: Hebrews 1:13—2:4
Gospel: Luke 1:1–25

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Malachi 1:1–14 (KJV)

The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down;
and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?
saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?
offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought.
I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;
and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts;
and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing:
for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

Psalm 18:1–50 (KJV)

I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
...
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

Hebrews 1:13—2:4 (KJV)

But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Luke 1:1–25 (KJV)

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed,
because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple:
for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – ️️ Second Sunday of Advent
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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️️ Second Sunday of Advent
Theme: Prophetic Rebellion, Intercession, and Advent Expectation

Old Testament: Numbers 12:1–16
(Optional Alternate: Numbers 20:1–13, Numbers 20:22–29)
Psalm: Psalm 106:1, 7–18, 24–28, 43–48
(Optional Alternate: Psalm 95:1–11)
Epistle: Hebrews 3:1–19
Gospel: Luke 1:57–80

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Numbers 12:1–16 (KJV)

And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married:
for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?
And the Lord heard it.

(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam,
Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle,
and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you,
I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches;
and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow:
and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us,
wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.

And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face,
should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days,
and after that let her be received in again.
And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days:
and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

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Alternate Old Testament: Numbers 20:1–13, 22–29 (KJV)

Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month:
and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place?
It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother,
and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water,
and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock:
so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock,
and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:
and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron,
Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel,
therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
...
And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land
which I have given unto the children of Israel,
because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:
And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son:
and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
And Moses did as the Lord commanded:
and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son;
and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead,
they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Psalm 106:1, 7–18, 24–28, 43–48 (KJV)

Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt;
they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies;
but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake,
that he might make his mighty power to be known.
He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up:
so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them,
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel,
and were brought low for their iniquity.
Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
And he remembered for them his covenant,
and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen,
to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting:
and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 95:1–11 (KJV)

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said,
It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Hebrews 3:1–19 (KJV)

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we,
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said,
They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned,
whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest,
but to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Luke 1:57–80 (KJV)

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child;
and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John.
And they marvelled all.

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:
and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – ️️️ Third Sunday of Advent
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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️️️ Third Sunday of Advent
Theme: Covenant Warnings and Royal Genealogy

Old Testament: Joshua 23:1–16
(Optional Alternate: None)
Psalm: Psalm 81:1–9 (Optional Extension: 10–16)
(Optional Alternate: Psalm 95:1–11)
Epistle: Hebrews 4:1–11
(Optional Extension: Hebrews 4:12–16)
Gospel: Luke 3:23–38
(Optional Alternate: Matthew 1:1–17)

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Joshua 23:1–16 (KJV)

And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about,
that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.
And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers,
and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:
And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you;
for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.
Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain,
to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off,
even unto the great sea westward.

And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight;
and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you.
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses,
that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you;
neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them,
neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:
But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong:
but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.
Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you,
and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you;
but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes,
until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.

And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth:
and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls,
that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you;
all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you,
which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things,
until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you,
and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them;
then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you,
and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

Psalm 81:1–9 (KJV)

Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt:
where I heard a language that I understood not.
I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee;
I answered thee in the secret place of thunder:
I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

Psalm 81:10–16 (KJV) *(Optional Extension)*

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him:
but their time should have endured for ever.
He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 95:1–11 (KJV)

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said,
It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Hebrews 4:1–11 (KJV)

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest,
any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said,
As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest:
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise,
And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein,
and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time;
as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:12–16 (KJV) *(Optional Extension)*

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Luke 3:23–38 (KJV)

And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Heli,
Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi...
[Genealogy continues down through]
Which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Alternate Gospel: Matthew 1:1–17 (KJV)

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom...
[Genealogy continues]
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;
and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations;
and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – Fourth Sunday of Advent
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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Fourth Sunday of Advent
Theme: The Forerunner, the Baptizer, and the Promise Confirmed

Old Testament: Numbers 14:1–25
(Optional Alternate: None)
Psalm: Psalm 144:1–15
(Optional Alternate: None)
Epistle: Hebrews 5:11—6:20
Gospel: John 3:22–36
(Note: John 3 ends at v.36; 22–38 is not possible in KJV)

---

Numbers 14:1–25 (KJV)

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron:
and the whole congregation said unto them,
Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword,
that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land,
rent their clothes:
And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying,
The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us;
a land which floweth with milk and honey.

Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land;
for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.
But all the congregation bade stone them with stones.
And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

And the Lord said unto Moses,
How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me,
for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them,
and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

And Moses said unto the Lord,
Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them
And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land:
for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people,
that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them,
and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud,
and in a pillar of fire by night.

Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man,
then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them,
therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people
according unto the greatness of thy mercy,
and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness,
and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers,
neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully,
him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.)
To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Psalm 144:1–15 (KJV)

Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer;
my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.

Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him!
or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters,
from the hand of strange children;
Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
It is he that giveth salvation unto kings:
who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children,
whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;
that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:
That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store:
that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out;
that there be no complaining in our streets.
Happy is that people, that is in such a case:
yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

Hebrews 5:11—6:20 (KJV)

Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God;
and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,
let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works,
and of faith toward God,
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands,
and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this will we do, if God permit.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;
whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love,
which ye have shewed toward his name,
in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence
to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
For men verily swear by the greater:
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise
the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,
and which entereth into that within the veil;
Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,
made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

John 3:22–36 (KJV)

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea;
and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there:
and they came, and were baptized.
For John was not yet cast into prison.

Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi,
he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth,
and all men come to him.

John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom:
but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice:
this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease.
He that cometh from above is above all:
he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth:
he that cometh from heaven is above all.

And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth;
and no man receiveth his testimony.
He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:
for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – Christmas Eve (Proper I)
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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Christmas Eve (Proper I)
Theme: False Prophets, False Comfort, and the Judgment of the Word

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 5:1–20
(Optional Alternate: Ecclesiastes 7:1–14 or Ezekiel 33:23–33)
Psalm: Psalm 21:1–13
Gospel: Matthew 12:22–50
(Optional Alternate: Luke 11:14–54)
Epistle: Philippians 3:1—4:1, 4:10–21
(Optional Alternate: James 1:17–27)

---

Ecclesiastes 5:1–20 (KJV)

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God,
and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools:
for they consider not that they do evil.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God:
for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it;
for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin;
neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error:
wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province,
marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver;
nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them:
and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much:
but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
But those riches perish by evil travail:
and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came,
and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go:
and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink,
and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life,
which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth,
and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour;
this is the gift of God.

For he shall not much remember the days of his life;
because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Psalm 21:1–13 (KJV)

The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness:
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him,
even length of days for ever and ever.
His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger:
the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power.

Philippians 3:1—4:1, 4:10–21 (KJV)

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh.
If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:
and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained,
let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk
so as ye have us for an ensample.
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
...
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again;
wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel,
when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you,
an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Matthew 12:22–50 (KJV)

Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb:
and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said,
This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them,
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;
and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself;
how shall then his kingdom stand?

And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?
therefore they shall be your judges.
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods,
except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:
but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good;
or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?
for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things:
and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying,
Master, we would see a sign from thee.

But he answered and said unto them,
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:
because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:
for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out;
and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself,
and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

But he answered and said unto him that told him,
Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren!
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Note, lest anyone think this text pericope from the Gospel according to St. Matthew supports antidicomarianism or contradicts Luke ch. 1, the Magnificat (“Behold all generations shall call me blessed”) or the traditional liturgical veneration of the Theotokos as practiced by my traditional Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox friends, such as @Jipsah @chevyontheriver @Xeno.of.athens and @markrohfstreitsch , the same pericope, albeit the version from the Gospel according to St. Luke, is the defautl lesson used on Marian feasts, that is to say, the vast majority of them, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, as my pious friends and co-religionists @prodromos @Chesterton and @jas3 can confirm. Of course, the our lectionaries, both the traditional Western Rite lectionaries (very similar to Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic lectionaries) and the main Byzantine Rite lectionary are vastly superior to the Revised Common Lectionary, even with Year D applied as a patch (at great cost; as I see it, the only way this would really work would be to read the lessons from year D in addition to those from year A or C, probably pairing years A and D and B and C, which would be good, since the pastor would have less time to preach, and potentially make an error, with the increased scripture lessons, and would be more likely to synthesize Patristic commentary.

I would also be inclined to severely criticize Dr. Slemmons for his choice of Gospel for Christmas Eve, as it risks downplaying the importance of the Incarnation, which is the whole point of the Nativity.

Consider: if read on the Nativity, this Gospel could be misinterpreted by the laity (who cannot be presumed to be well-catechized or sufficiently robust in their exegetical skill to be able always correctly connect the hermenuetic dots; for indeed, in a healthy church many will be children, some hearing this lection for the first time, without being familiar with such vital texts as Luke ch. 1-2 or Luke ch. 24 or John ch. 1 which help us understand the structure of Scripture in explaining God’s plan for our salvation) as implying that the incarnation of Christ, the only begotten Son and Word of God, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, is not a vital part of the economy of salvation. To me, this choice of lection hints at a Nestorian or even a semi-Docetic Christology that, approaching the error of the Manichees or Valentinians, de-emphasizes the importance of the Incarnation to our Salvation, substituting faith, without pausing to ask, faith in what? Since Scripture expressly affirms the Incarnation, but you can’t count on the laity to remember that.

Thus, while some of the Pericopes from Year D I endorse, this is an example of one I reject positively; the Marian pericope would be appropriate for a feast such as the Nativity of the Theotokos, the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple or the Dormition (Assumption), but for the Nativity or indeed the Annunciation, since interpreted correctly, it does attest to her sinlessness, it could be misread as meaning the opposite of what is meant.

However the real tragedy is that much of what we’re reading is simply omitted from the RCL altogether, rather than being liturgically framed in its proper context. Also, like the rest of the RCL, but unlike three year lectionaries from the 1979 BCP and other sources, no Collect is provided; there are no added propers to connect these lections to the rest of the liturgy, so anyone seeking to use these, like with the rest of the RCL, has to patch it.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – Christmas Morning (Proper II)
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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Christmas Morning (Proper II)
Theme: Woe and Wonder, Darkness and Light, and the Triumph of Grace

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 7:15–29
(Optional Alternate: Micah 7:1–20)
Psalm: Psalm 44:1–26
Epistle: Romans 3:1–22a
Gospel: Matthew 10:9–23
(Optional Alternate: Luke 12:1–12)

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Ecclesiastes 7:15–29 (KJV)

All things have I seen in the days of my vanity:
there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness,
and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand:
for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken;
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?

I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things,
and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands:
whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not:
one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;
but they have sought out many inventions.

Psalm 44:1–26 (KJV)

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us,
what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them;
how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them:
but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
Through thee will we push down our enemies:
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy:
and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat;
and hast scattered us among the heathen.

Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth;
by reason of the enemy and avenger.

All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee,
neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

Romans 3:1–22a (KJV)

What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say?
Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,)
Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise:
for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law:
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:

Matthew 10:9–23 (KJV)

Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves:
for the workman is worthy of his meat.

And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy;
and there abide till ye go thence.
And when ye come into an house, salute it.
And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it:
but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words,
when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Verily I say unto you,
It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:
be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils,
and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake,
for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak:
for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child:
and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another:
for verily I say unto you,
Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Proper II, for Christmas Day, is another odd choice of Scripture lessons, but less problematic than Proper I for Christmas Eve; if one reads Slemmon’s notes, which I can excerpt from if anyone is curious, he did have a more constructive vision driving this service; alas the Christmas Day service is very poorly attended in many Western churches so one might as well read pericopes about the challenges faced by our Lord, His Apostles and we ourselves in spreading the Good News. Although dear me, that does sound rather cynical, does it not? Many Western Christians have enough difficulty making the connection between John 1:1-14 and the Nativity on this day; despite it being entirely logical, moreso than this, where the main goal seems to have been to avoid duplicating years A, B and C, and to include important Scrioture missing from the Revised Common Lectionary; the latter objective I support; the former seems Quixotic, and to be fair, Slemmons expresses some reservations about the wisdom of using these lections, and those of Christmas Eve, by themselves.

Despite my vehement rejection of his proposed Gospel for the Christmas Eve service, these reservations do temper my opinion of him, which is on the whole, quite warm; I admire his courage - he saw the problems with the RCL and attempted to fix it, and recognized his fix introduced its own problems. The real solution as always is to revert to the traditional lectionary, but failing that, year D could make for an enlightening additive that would correct many of the problems with the RCL, if used correctly, ideally in addition to, rather than instead of, year A.

 

[The Liturgist]

Year D – Christmas Day (Proper III)
From “Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary”
by Rev. Timothy Matthew Slemmons​

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Christmas Day (Proper III)
Theme: The Call to See and Hear the Glory of the LORD

Old Testament: Isaiah 6:9–13
(Optional Alternate: Isaiah 6:8–13 or Jeremiah 10:1–16, 17–25)
Psalm: Psalm 35:1–28
(Optional Alternate: Psalm 94:1–23)
Epistle: Romans 11:2b–36
(Optional Optional: Romans 11:2b–28, 29–32)
Gospel: John 12:17–19, 37–50

---

Isaiah 6:9–13 (KJV)

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and convert, and be healed.

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man,
and the land be utterly desolate,

And the Lord have removed men far away,
and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten:
as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves:
so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Alternate Old Testament: Isaiah 6:8–13 (KJV)

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I; send me.

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and convert, and be healed.

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man,
and the land be utterly desolate,

And the Lord have removed men far away,
and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten:
as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves:
so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Alternate Old Testament: Jeremiah 10:1–16 (KJV)

Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen,
and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest,
the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers,
that it move not.

They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not:
they must needs be borne, because they cannot go.
Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great,
and thy name is great in might.
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain:
forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms,
there is none like unto thee.

But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz,
the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder:
blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king:
at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth,
even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom,
and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth;
he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image:
for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things;
and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.

Psalm 35:1–28 (KJV)

Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me:
say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul:
let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.
Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit,
which without cause they have digged for my soul.
Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
into that very destruction let him fall.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee,
which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him,
yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:
I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother:
I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together:
yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not;
they did tear me, and ceased not:
With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions,
my darling from the lions.
I will give thee thanks in the great congregation:
I will praise thee among much people.

Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me:
neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence:
O Lord, be not far from me.
Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment,
even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness;
and let them not rejoice over me.
Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it:
let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt:
let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause:
yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified,
which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Romans 11:2b–36 (KJV)

...Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars;
and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

But what saith the answer of God unto him?
I have reserved to myself seven thousand men,
who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace...

[Full text continues as expected to v.36]

John 12:17–19, 37–50 (KJV)

The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave,
and raised him from the dead, bare record.
For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing?
behold, the world is gone after him.

But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake,
Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart;
that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted,
and I should heal them.
These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him;
but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not:
for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
And I know that his commandment is life everlasting:
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

Now, finally, for Christmas Sunday, (Proper III of Christmastide) we have a Gospel pericope that makes sense, taken from the Gospel According to St. John (which is made the focus of Year D, just as years A, B and C focus on each of the synoptics (they are meant to include John distributed throughout, but in practice they do not do this adequately; if memory serves only 68% of the Gospel According to St. John is represented in the RCL, a substantial reduction from the traditional Western, which includes the entire New Testament (and in the case of the Anglicans, all of the Old Testament as well, through the Divine Office of Mattins and Evensong). Nonetheless, this Gospel is a good choice.
I shall post the lections for the Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, and the first part of “Ordinary TIme”, in the near future.