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Revised Common Lectionary

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The Revised Common Lectionary ( RCL ) is a lectionary of readings or pericopes from the Bible for use in Christian worship , making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. It was preceded by the Common Lectionary , assembled in 1983, itself preceded by the COCU Lectionary , published in 1974 by the Consultation on Church Union (COCU). This lectionary was derived from Protestant lectionaries in use, which in turn were based on the 1969 Ordo Lectionum Missae , a three-year lectionary produced by the Roman Catholic Church following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council .

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49-951: The Revised Common Lectionary was the product of a collaboration between the North American Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) and the International English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC). After a nine-year trial period, it was publicly released in 1994. The CCT membership includes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as many traditionally liturgical American and Canadian Protestant churches, including Lutheran , Episcopal and Anglican , Presbyterian , and (more loosely) Methodist . The CCT thereby represents

98-406: A common name for Tinea pedis (athlete's foot) was Cantlie's foot tetter. In addition, verses 18–23 describe infections after scald , and verses 24–28 describe infections after burn . Through sacrifice, the priest "makes atonement" for sin and the offeror receives forgiveness (but only if Yahweh accepts the sacrifice). Atonement rituals involve the pouring or sprinkling of blood as the symbol of

147-539: A more aggadic one ( Vayikra Rabbah ). The New Testament , particularly the Epistle to the Hebrews , uses ideas and images from Leviticus to describe Jesus as the high priest who offers his own blood as a sin offering . Therefore, Christians do not make animal offerings either, because as Gordon Wenham summarized: "With the death of Christ the only sufficient 'burnt offering' was offered once and for all, and therefore

196-451: A prohibition on all ritual slaughter of animals, and then prohibits a long list of sexual contacts and also child sacrifice. The "holiness" injunctions which give the code its name begin with the next section: there are penalties for the worship of Molech , consulting mediums and wizards, cursing one's parents and engaging in unlawful sex. Priests receive instruction on mourning rituals and acceptable bodily defects. The punishment for blasphemy

245-532: A remnant of struggles between different priestly factions in First Temple times, finding resolution by the Second Temple into a hierarchy of Aaronite altar-priests and lower-level Levites, including singers, gatekeepers and the like.) In chapter 10, God kills Nadab and Abihu , the oldest sons of Aaron, for offering "strange incense". Aaron has two sons left. Commentators have read various messages in

294-551: A result, Israel had to maintain its own holiness in order to live safely alongside God. The need for holiness is for the possession of the Promised Land ( Canaan ), where the Jews will become a holy people: "You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you dwelt, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan to which I am bringing you   [...] You shall do my ordinances and keep my statutes   [...] I am

343-522: Is based, is used in the Roman Catholic Church in local translations as the standard lectionary. Various other churches have also adopted (and sometimes adapted) the RCL; some may consider its use optional. These include: Consultation on Common Texts The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) is "an ecumenical consultation of liturgical scholars and denominational representatives from

392-461: Is death, and there is the setting of rules for eating sacrifices; there is an explanation of the calendar, and there are rules for sabbatical and Jubilee years; there are rules for oil lamps and bread in the sanctuary; and there are rules for slavery . The code ends by telling the Israelites they must choose between the law and prosperity on the one hand, or, on the other, horrible punishments,

441-550: Is made for either being a Eucharist). Minimal changes to the "Principal Service" have been made in order to preserve its use as an ecumenical lectionary; the most significant of these is in Year B where in Epiphany for three Sundays readings from Revelation replace readings from 1 Corinthians. The Revised Common Lectionary is used in its original or an adapted form by churches around the world. The Ordo Lectionum Missae , on which it

490-536: Is made for the use of a responsorial psalm each Sunday. Lastly, there has been a certain amount of editing so that some verses of most books are omitted. Sometimes the omission is simply an introduction to a book; sometimes more substantial material has been excluded, but the overall intention, that of allowing, say, the substance of a biblical writer's thoughts to be read and heard in church, has arguably been achieved at least more substantially than before. There have been arguments over individual editorial judgements and

539-485: Is not taking a series of actions for their own sake, but a means of maintaining the relationship between God, the world, and humankind. The main function of the priests is service at the altar, and only the sons of Aaron are priests in the full sense. (Ezekiel also distinguishes between altar-priests and lower Levites, but in Ezekiel the altar-priests are sons of Zadok instead of sons of Aaron; many scholars see this as

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588-732: Is the third book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and of the Old Testament , also known as the Third Book of Moses . Many hypotheses presented by scholars as to its origins agree that it developed over a long period of time, reaching its present form during the Persian Period , from 538 to 332 BC, although this is disputed. Most of its chapters (1–7, 11–27) consist of God 's speeches to Moses , which he tells Moses to repeat to

637-647: Is to underline the character of altar priesthood (i.e., those priests with power to offer sacrifices to God) as an Aaronite privilege, and the responsibilities and dangers of their position. With sacrifice and priesthood established, chapters 11–15 instruct the lay people on purity (or cleanliness). Eating certain animals produces uncleanliness, as does giving birth ; certain skin diseases (but not all) are unclean, as are certain conditions affecting walls and clothing ( mildew and similar conditions); and unusual bodily discharges, including female menses and male emissions ( gonorrhea ), are unclean. The reasoning behind

686-511: Is translated as ' tetter ' or ' freckles ', likely because translators did not know what it meant at the time, and thus, translated it incorrectly. Later translations identify it as talking about vitiligo ; however, vitiligo is not an infectious disease. The disease, described as healing itself and leaving white patches after infection, is likely to be pityriasis versicolor (tinea versicolor). Tetter originally referred to an outbreak, which later evolved meaning ringworm-like lesions. Therefore,

735-790: The Apocrypha or deuterocanonical books ), or the Acts of the Apostles ; a passage from one of the Psalms ; another from either the Epistles or the Book of Revelation ; and finally a passage from one of the four Gospels . Also like its predecessors, it runs in three-year cycles; the gospel readings in the first year (Year A) are taken from the Gospel of Matthew , those in the second year (or Year B) from

784-556: The Church of England , in its use of the RCL, has re-inserted verses, in brackets, which were felt by its Liturgical Commission to be more properly included. Such is the length of the Scriptural canon that no Sunday lectionary can cover the whole of Scripture without the necessity of very long readings on a Sunday or a longer cycle of years. Sometimes there has to be a choice between telling a long story or omitting it entirely. However,

833-405: The Gospel of Mark , and in the third year (or Year C) come from the Gospel of Luke . Portions of the Gospel of John are read throughout Eastertide , and are also used for other liturgical seasons including Advent , Christmastide , and Lent where appropriate. It differs from its Latin predecessor, however, in that—as a result of feedback collected from the participating churches during

882-467: The Old Testament provides a further qualification to the first principle. Because it is so much longer than the New, it is inevitable that a smaller proportion of the material will be included, unless readings are to be very long. Readings are much more selective both in terms of the books included: little appears from the books of Leviticus and Numbers and almost none from 1 and 2 Chronicles . Moreover, it

931-716: The 1st century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. As there was no longer a Temple at which to offer animal sacrifices, Judaism pivoted towards prayer and the study of the Torah, eventually giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism . Nevertheless, Leviticus constitutes a major source of Jewish law and is traditionally the first book children learn in the Rabbinic system of education. There are two main Midrashim on Leviticus—the halakhic one (Sifra) and

980-486: The Hebrew Bible in various languages have never reached a consensus on these infectious diseases, or tzaraath ( צרעת ), and the translation and interpretation of the scriptures are not known for certain. The most common translation is that these infectious diseases are leprosy ; however, what is described in chapter 13 does not represent a typical manifestation of leprosy. Modern dermatology shows that many of

1029-713: The Holiness authors as editors who worked with the Priestly code and actually produced Leviticus as is now extant. Many scholars argue that the rituals of Leviticus have a theological meaning concerning Israel's relationship with its God. Jacob Milgrom was especially influential in spreading this view. He maintained that the priestly regulations in Leviticus expressed a rational system of theological thought. The writers expected them to be put into practice in Israel's temple, so

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1078-573: The Israelites. This takes place within the story of the Israelites' Exodus after they escaped Egypt and reached Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1). The Book of Exodus narrates how Moses led the Israelites in building the Tabernacle (Exodus 35–40) with God's instructions (Exodus 25–31). In Leviticus, God tells the Israelites and their priests, Aaron and his sons, how to make offerings in the Tabernacle and how to conduct themselves while camped around

1127-526: The Latin Leviticus , which is in turn from the Ancient Greek : Λευιτικόν ( Leuitikon ), referring to the priestly tribe of the Israelites, ' Levi '. The Greek expression is in turn a variant of the rabbinic Hebrew torat kohanim , 'law of priests', as many of its laws relate to priests. In Hebrew the book is called Vayikra ( Hebrew : וַיִּקְרָא ), from the opening of

1176-485: The Lord your God am holy." Holiness in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible had a different meaning than in contemporary usage: it might have been regarded as the essence of Yahweh, an invisible but physical and potentially dangerous force. Specific objects, or even days, can be holy, but they derive holiness from being connected with Yahweh—the seventh day, the tabernacle, and the priests all derive their holiness from him. As

1225-687: The Lord, your God." (Leviticus 18:3). Leviticus, as part of the Torah, became the law book of Jerusalem's Second Temple as well as of the Samaritan temple. Its influence is evident among the Dead Sea Scrolls , which included fragments of seventeen manuscripts of Leviticus dating from the 3rd to the 1st centuries BC. Many other Qumran scrolls cite the book, especially the Temple Scroll and 4QMMT . Jews and Christians have not observed Leviticus's instructions for animal offerings since

1274-717: The Second Sunday before Lent . It then resumes after Pentecost until the Sunday before Advent which is kept as the Feast of Christ the King . Secondly, because the cycle is three years long, only three of the Gospel writers are given a year. St. John's Gospel , whose form and character is very different from the three synoptic gospels is treated differently and is inserted into all three years. Thus passages from St. John appear in

1323-773: The United States and Canada, who produce liturgical texts for use in common by North American Christian Churches." Its most significant product is the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). This Christian theology article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Christian organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Leviticus The Book of Leviticus ( / l ɪ ˈ v ɪ t ɪ k ə s / , from Ancient Greek : Λευιτικόν , Leuïtikón ; Biblical Hebrew : וַיִּקְרָא ‎ , Wayyīqrāʾ , 'And He called'; Latin : Liber Leviticus )

1372-528: The animal sacrifices which foreshadowed Christ's sacrifice were made obsolete." Christians generally have the view that the New Covenant supersedes the Old Testament's ritual laws , which includes some of the rules in Leviticus. Christians, therefore, do not usually follow Leviticus' rules regarding diet purity, and agriculture. Christian teachings have differed, however, as to where to draw

1421-413: The book , va-yikra "And He [ God ] called." The outlines from commentaries are similar, though not identical; compare those of Wenham, Hartley, Milgrom, and Watts. Chapters 1–5 describe the various sacrifices from the sacrificers' point of view, although the priests are essential for handling the blood. Chapters 6–7 go over much the same ground, but from the point of view of the priest, who, as

1470-547: The book of Leviticus is Priestly literature. Most scholars see chapters 1–16 (the Priestly code ) and chapters 17–26 (the Holiness code ) as the work of two related schools, but while the Holiness material employs the same technical terms as the Priestly code, it broadens their meaning from pure ritual to the theological and moral, turning the ritual of the Priestly code into a model for the relationship of Israel to Yahweh: as

1519-435: The community. Uncleanliness threatens holiness; chapters 11–15 review the various causes of uncleanliness and describe the rituals which will restore cleanliness; one is to maintain cleanliness through observation of the rules on sexual behaviour, family relations, land ownership, worship, sacrifice, and observance of holy days. Yahweh dwells with Israel in the Tabernacle . All of the priestly ritual focuses on Yahweh and

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1568-487: The construction and maintenance of a holy space, but sin generates impurity, as do everyday events such as childbirth and menstruation ; impurity pollutes the holy dwelling place. Failure to purify the sacred space ritually could result in God's leaving, which would be disastrous. In chapter 13, God instructs Moses and Aaron on how to identify infectious diseases and deal with them accordingly. The translators and interpreters of

1617-642: The daily lectionary, devised by the Roman Catholic Church and adopted by the Church of England (among others), provides more material. The CCT has also produced a volume of daily readings. The Church of England has augmented the RCL by the provision of readings for second and third services. Thus the RCL lectionary is used for the "Principal Service", which often takes the form of a Eucharist, while allowing for additional material at other services which may be Morning and Evening Prayer (though provision

1666-518: The food rules are obscure; for the rest the guiding principle seems to be that all these conditions involve a loss of "life force", usually but not always blood. Chapter 16 concerns the Day of Atonement (though that phrase appears first in 23:27). This is the only day on which the High Priest is to enter the holiest part of the sanctuary, the holy of holies . He is to sacrifice a bull for the sins of

1715-515: The holy tent sanctuary. Leviticus takes place during the month or month-and-a-half between the completion of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:17) and the Israelites' departure from Sinai (Numbers 1:1, 10:11). The instructions of Leviticus emphasize ritual, legal, and moral practices rather than beliefs. Nevertheless, they reflect the world view of the creation story in Genesis 1 that God wishes to live with humans. The book teaches that faithful performance of

1764-516: The incident: a reflection of struggles between priestly factions in the post-Exilic period (Gerstenberger); or a warning against offering incense outside the Temple, where there might be the risk of invoking strange gods (Milgrom). In any case, there has been a pollution of the sanctuary by the bodies of the two dead priests, leading into the next theme, holiness. Ritual purity is essential for an Israelite to be able to approach Yahweh and remain part of

1813-468: The infectious diseases in chapter 13 were likely dermatophytoses , a group of highly contagious skin diseases. The infectious disease of the chin described in verses 29–37 seems to be Tinea barbae in men or Tinea faciei in women; the infectious disease described in verses 29–37 (as resulting in hair loss and eventual baldness) seems to be Tinea capitis ( Favus ). Verses 1–17 seem to describe Tinea corporis . The Hebrew word bohaq in verses 38–39

1862-401: The life of the victim: the blood has the power to wipe out or absorb the sin. The two-part division of the book structurally reflects the role of atonement: chapters 1–16 call for the establishment of the institution for atonement, and chapters 17–27 call for the life of the atoned community in holiness. The consistent theme of chapters 17–26 is in the repetition of the phrase, "Be holy, for I

1911-633: The majority of American and Canadian Christians and has been widely adopted in Great Britain and in other countries such as Australia. Various churches, however, have made some changes to the form of the RCL that they use. It has been further adapted for Sunday school and children's church use. As in its predecessors, readings are prescribed for each Sunday: a passage typically from the Old Testament (including in Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches those books sometimes referred to as

1960-442: The one actually carrying out the sacrifice and dividing the "portions", needs to know how to do it. Sacrifices are between God, the priest, and the offers, although in some cases the entire sacrifice is a single portion to God—i.e., burnt to ashes. Chapters 8–10 describe how Moses consecrates Aaron and his sons as the first priests, the first sacrifices, and God's destruction of two of Aaron's sons for ritual offenses. The purpose

2009-472: The priests, and a goat for the sins of the laypeople. The priest is to send a second goat into the desert to " Azazel ", bearing the sins of the whole people. Azazel's identity is unknown, with some Christian tradition linking him to a fallen angel, older English Bible translations like the King James Version translating it as "a scapegoat". Chapters 17–26 are the Holiness code . It begins with

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2058-557: The rest of the New Testament is heard, in some cases, virtually in total, in others in large part. This principle is subject to a number of exceptions. Firstly, different principles apply during the special seasons of the year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. Here appropriate lections relevant to the season are chosen. The rest of the year, called Ordinary Time , begins in February (after Candlemas ) and runs until

2107-429: The rituals would express this theology as well, as well as ethical concern for the poor. Milgrom also argued that the book's purity regulations (chapters 11–15) have a basis in ethical thinking. Many other interpreters have followed Milgrom in exploring the theological and ethical implications of Leviticus's regulations (e.g., Marx, Balentine), though some have questioned how systematic they really are. Ritual, therefore,

2156-400: The sanctuary rituals can make that possible, so long as the people avoid sin and impurity whenever possible. The rituals, especially the sin and guilt offerings, provide the means to gain forgiveness for sins (Leviticus 4–5) and purification from impurities (Leviticus 11–16) so that God can continue to live in the Tabernacle in the midst of the people. The English name Leviticus comes from

2205-461: The special seasons of Advent and Lent, on Passion (Palm) Sunday in all three years, throughout Holy Week, including Good Friday, on Easter Day as the first alternative Gospel, during most of the Easter season, on Pentecost and during the year in which St. Mark's gospel is in use. A practical reason for this is that Mark is considerably shorter than either St. Matthew or St. Luke. The treatment given to

2254-466: The tabernacle, which is apart from uncleanliness, becomes holy by the presence of Yahweh, so he will dwell among Israel when Israel receives purification (becomes holy) and separates from other peoples. The ritual instructions in the Priestly code apparently grew from priests giving instruction and answering questions about ritual matters; the Holiness code (or H) used to be a separate document, later becoming part of Leviticus, but it seems better to think of

2303-428: The trial period—a greater emphasis is given to Old Testament passages and to Wisdom literature . The major principle behind the lectionary is that on a Sunday members of congregations should be able to hear the voice of each writer week by week, rather than readings being selected according to a theme. Thus, in any given year the writer of one of the first three gospels will be heard from beginning to end. Likewise

2352-579: The worst of which will be expulsion from the land. Chapter 27 is a disparate and probably late addition telling about persons and things serving as dedication to the Lord and how one can redeem, instead of fulfill, vows. The majority of scholars have concluded that the Pentateuch received its final form during the Persian period (538–332 BC). Nevertheless, Leviticus had a long period of growth before reaching that form. The entire composition of

2401-459: Was decided that churches could choose between two tracks in their use of the Old Testament. "Track 1" adheres to the principle of giving the Biblical writer their own voice, thus following week by week from a portion of a book, or, in the case of some books, the whole. "Track 2", on the other hand, designated the "Related Track", is intended to relate in some way to the Gospel for the day. Provision

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