Why do the Sunday readings change each year even during the Season of Lent and Easter?
The church calendar is a three-year cycle of readings, each year focusing on a particular Gospel, Matthew in year A; Mark, year B and Luke Year C. This year our focus is on the Gospel of Matthew. Lent in the early church was a time of penitence and a time of preparation for baptism and entry into the church. This years Gospel readings, those of year A, have as their point of emphasis, this preparation for Baptism. We read on the First Sunday of Lent that Jesus was baptized and then led by the Spirit into the wilderness; this was his way of making ready for his public ministry. In week two Nicodemus is told that he must be born of water and the Spirit, a reference that we readily acknowledge as pointing to our baptismal call. It is the Baptismal Covenant that we will renew and profess at the Easter Vigil. Week three speaks to the thirst that we as individuals have for a relationship with the Holy One and Gods willingness to approach us. In week four, the man born blind has his sight res
