Q. Why is the second reading from the Lectionary consistently from a New Testament letter?


A. Letters make up the bulk of New Testament books. Twenty-one of the twenty-seven books are letters from various people, most of them from Paul or his followers. Letters were an easy and common way of communicating in the ancient world, as they are today. Some letters are more formal than others.

The second Lectionary reading of each Sunday proclaims the letters in a somewhat continuous fashion. Each of the three Lectionary years exposes us to selections from different letters, allowing us to enter into the world of the early followers of Jesus. One soon realizes that even though the specifics may be different, the human emotions, struggles and questions concerning what it means to follow Jesus are perennial.

In Cycle A of the Lectionary, we only read from four of the letters during Ordinary Time: the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians. Hebrews and James, along with the other letters from Paul, are read in Ordinary Time in Cycles B and C. The themes explored in the letters from Peter and John are especially apropos to the Easter season and so we read from those letters in the cycles of that season.

This Sunday pay close attention to the second reading. Locate that letter in the Bible. Reflect on what that letter is saying to you about what following Jesus entails.

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