Uncommon Lectionary

 

                In November, things get serious. Publics are back into routines of study, reading, and reflection. Businesses are getting anxious about the year-end bottom line. Retailers are gearing up for holiday sales. Families are anticipating or dreading (as the case may be) the coming reunions and feasts. And interest in the “supernatural” increases significantly. It’s not just that Halloween has taken a sharp turn from the fun and frivolous toward the violent and speculative, but that people are more than a little preoccupied with the power of God (or the gods) in death and life, war and peace, doom and hope. The media will fan the interest in supernatural and sentimental things … and the two become “flip sides” of the same coin of yearning.

 

                The scriptures of the Seeker Cycle are chosen to focus on God’s power and purpose. Is God Lord over death? Is God’s purpose really abundant life? Is sin and evil really so potent? Is a victory of love really assured? The seeker cycle November texts begin with the confrontation with death and evil, and end with the anticipation of Christ’s coming.

 

                The seekers that come to church in November are often driven by clear crises and specific questions. They are not just “yearning in general”, or “returning after their visit to enroll children in Sunday school”. They really do have a question that cannot be answered, a brokenness that cannot be healed, or fear that will not go away. There are “demons” at large in November, and they are pressing people hard. They are searching for a means of escape, or a victory over despair. That is why they return to sentimentality over the past (remembrance day, thanksgiving day) … they hope romanticizing their relationships will give them comfort. That is why they pay so much attention to supernaturalism … they hope to ally themselves with a greater power.

 

                In addition to your radical hospitality, be sure to seed the refreshment center with strong, visible, credible mentors who are prepared to stand to the side and plummet suddenly and deeply into the spiritual questions and emotional stress that seekers will bring to worship. Offer very specific post-worship small group opportunities for seekers to hear clear, succinct, Christian answers.

 

 

Disciple Cycle for November

 

The Disciple Cycle changes story lines in mid-November. This is a time to take leaders deep into the understanding of sin and evil, forgiveness and grace. The last Bible stories of the story line of faithfulness articulate the prophetic hope for salvation and grace. Then we begin the story line about the purpose of Jesus.

 

Notice that the story line for Jesus starts earlier than in traditional worship plans … and continues longer than traditional worship plans. The story line of Jesus is the real heart of the lectionary, and the real crux of spirituality in the church. Leaders need more time to go deep into the significance of the coming of Christ, in order to equip themselves to mentor seekers who are caught up in pagan supernaturalism. Remember that the Gospel of Christ is being presented to pagan ears (who are already filled with ideas and expectations about how the gods and supernatural powers influence life). The Gospel is not being present to secular ears, because the godless, faithless, neutral world of pure reason has largely disappeared from global cultures today.

 

Notice also that the story line about Jesus begins with reflections about the significance of his death. We do not leap immediately to the birth of the Christ child. We interpret the significance of his birth from the perspective of knowing what happened at his death. It is a “retrospective”. Only when Jesus died did Christians really understand the hidden nuance and significance of his birth story.

 

This is a time when pastors will have to be even more assertive in holding leaders to the discipline of the Disciple Cycle. Starting with Thanksgiving, and then throughout the coming parties, reunions, and busy travel plans of December, church leaders will be severely tempted to break their disciplines of worship attendance and weekly small group participation. Yet this is precisely the time when serious Christian disciples must remain disciplined to worship and small group study. Nothing less than the mentoring  … and therefore the hope and salvation … of many seekers is at stake at this time of year.

 

Christ really is the hope of the world, and that hope is being focused by the coming season like a lens concentrates the heat of the sun. A fire is going to break out in the lives of many people. It may be a destructive fire, and the disappointments of the year or the feuding of families or the loneliness of existence may overwhelm people and burn them with despair. Or it may be a holy fire that will break out in their hearts to warm their existence and lighten their path. Make no mistake. A fire will break out. And the difference between an unholy conflagration and a holy illumination may be your discipline disciples who are ready to mentor seekers to find God With Them.