SEASON AFTER PENTECOST

The beginning of the Season of Sundays after Pentecost is determined by the date of Easter – and the related date of Pentecost, fifty days later. The Feast of the Reign of Christ is its climax and conclusion and is always the 5th Sunday before Christmas Day, i.e. the Sunday before Advent begins. During the long Season of Sundays after Pentecost we encounter Jesus as Healer, Teacher and the One who is to suffer and die as the Saviour of the World.

Liturgical Colour
The liturgical colour for the Season is Green – Green being the colour associated with the mission and work of the Church in the world. However, the liturgical colour for the celebrations of the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and the final Sunday, the Reign of Christ are white.



About the Sunday Readings for the Sundays after Pentecost

The 27 Sundays in the Season of Sundays after Pentecost are provided with two sets of readings. Two different readings from the Old Testament [First Reading] are assigned to each Sunday. The New Testament [Second Reading] and the Gospel reading are the same in both sets. Each of these two sets of readings has its own integrity and should be used as a full set and not as part of a list of 6 readings from which choices can be made. It is recommended that one ‘track’ of Sunday readings [either the semi-continuous or the thematic track] be chosen and used consistently throughout the Season in any one year.
The First Reading and Psalm offer a semi-continuous reading of some of the Old Testament historical books, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings followed by series from the Wisdom literature, Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Job. The Alternate First Reading and Psalm offer the option of lections in thematic harmony with the Gospel of the day.

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost and the gospel passage from John recounts Jesus speaking to the disciples of the Spirit and the Father.
The readings from Luke for the next 26 Sundays include miracles of healing [5]. Teaching disciples [14 including 9 parables] a confrontation with the Jewish authorities, encounters with Martha and Mary as well as Zacchaeus, and a little Apocalypse until we are reminded that our King reigns from the Cross. In the midst of all that Jesus did, we also have the story of the sending of the 70 to prepare the way for Jesus by proclaiming the kingdom and curing the sick. In all of these one is reminded again and again of Jesus’ concern for the outsiders, the women, the weak, and those whom society cast aside.

The series of readings from Jeremiah in the middle of the season could provide material for a series of sermons on the role of the prophet in society. The semi-continuous readings from the letters to the Galatians, Colossians and Timothy provide ample opportunity to focus the preaching on a series of Sundays and to encourage study groups to continue that focus in small groups.