Sometimes, I hate the Lectionary

Case in point: What is with Sunday's butchery  of the last half of the last chapter of the Book of Revelation in the Revised Common Lectionary? What is rendered is an odd amalgam of Chapter 22: verses 12-14,16-17,20-21. If you read the abbreviated verse (see link above) and then the entirety here, you come away with two entirely different pictures. 

I understand the exciting folks who brought you the Lectionary  were pastorally concerned about having a public reading which proclaims, "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." 

Seeing as the Lectionary also contains the story in Acts about Paul exorcising a demon possessed slave whose owners are making a pretty penny off of her talent, we've probably already offended the sorcerers. No one knows what the word fornication means anymore, and no one likely considers themselves a murderer or idolater or a practicer of falsehood, so I assume we don't want to offend the dog lovers, lest PETA protests on the steps of the church building. 

Ironically the other verses omitted from the Lectionary contain this: "If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." 

Seeing as this is the last directive in the entire bible, I, for one, intend to have the entirety of the reading used for Sunday worship because the Lectionary has managed to do the very thing warned against by taking away from the words of the book of this prophecy. 

Now that is what I call irony. 

Comments

Undergroundpewster said…
The lectionary splices have been a pet peeve of mine since I first became aware of this (just in the past several years). I am concerned that a politically corrected version of the scripture is being heard on Sundays. I have concerns that there is an underlying agenda, but I have no proof thus far.

Most pewsitters are not reading the Bible daily and will not know how to deal with the "difficult" verses. The readers on Sunday should be encouraged to include the "missing verses," and the homilist should be prepared to discuss any imprecatory ones.

Consistant Bible study is of course the answer.
5/13/2010 10:06 PM
Undergroundpewster said…
The RCL really should have kept those last two verses in there.
5/16/2010 2:36 PM
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