I spent today doing exegesis for the series of five sermons I'll be preaching at Gilmore Park United in July. I've decided to follow the Revised Common Lectionary and preach on the assigned passage from 2 Samuel each week.
Today my issues with the RCL were seriously triggered, not only based on what they have chosen to skip over from week to week, but also what they have excluded within the passage for a given Sunday.
Namely, all of the violence, all of the political intrigue, all of the murder and war. It suggests that the ascendancy of David to the throne was peaceful and unopposed, that his transfer of the ark from its resting place to the new royal city went off without a hitch, after taking up residence there without having to conquer its previous inhabitants (the Jebusites).
Some of the richest theological material in this portion of Samuel (2 Samuel 1-11) is in the bits that are left out of the RCL. CONSTERNATION!!!!!1111one
I think one of my sermons will have to be about all of the stuff that's left out. Friggin' RCL, making life easier with one hand and more difficult with the other. I guess that's the situation with most disciplines and practices. They result in blessings but they require effort.
Okay, so, for your edification, here are the bits that are in and out of the RCL, so you can check it out for yourself if you're as much of a geek as I am. Especially check out the gaps that are indicated by asterisks in the second list. These are verses that have been pulled out of the middle of a passage that is the assigned reading for the week.
2 SAMUEL
IN
1:1, 17-27
5:1-5, 9-10
6:1-5, 12b-19
7:1-14a
11:1-15
OUT
1:2-16
2:1-4:12
5:6-8*
5:11-25
6:6-12a*
6:20-23
7:14b-10:19
11:16-25
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