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Abraham, Lazarus, and Dives / Sculptor unknown; Nick in exsilio (photographer) / 12th century (Click the picture for more information)
ART and PRAYER
For each week, the RCL website has added scriptural reflections based on a featured art image, as well as RCL prayers for worship.
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Do the Jewish or Muslim faiths also have an order of readings based on a calendar?
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Do the Jewish or Muslim faiths also have an order of readings based on a calendar?

Regarding a prescribed order of readings for Jews: there is no one prescribed order. The length of a "reading cycle" has varied over time: as the article on the "Triennial Cycle" in the Encyclopedia Judaica (2nd edition) notes, "In traditional synagogues, the Pentateuch is read in one year. Reform Judaism (and some Conservative synagogues) has, however, reverted to the ancient Palestinian custom of a triennial cycle" (vol. 20, p. 143). Another article in the Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd edition, ("Torah, Reading Of") goes into a bit more detail about how the Torah is read today and includes a number of tables of readings. There is also an article on the "Triennial Cycle" in the first edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica; it's available for free online (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=327&letter=T&search=triennial).

Tables of readings for the Jewish faith can be found online -- for example, http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/readingp.htm has a table for the annual reading of the Torah, along with another table of readings for special Sabbaths and holidays. Note that the Torah reading is accompanied by readings from the Prophets (called Haftaroth; the article mentioned above, entitled "Torah, Reading Of," notes that "[t]he practice of "completing" the Torah reading with a passage from one of the prophetic books, the haftarah ("completion"), is mentioned in the Mishnah (Meg. 4:1–2); the origins of the custom, however, are obscure" (vol. 20, p. 50). These tables are keyed to a calendar (http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/current.htm); if you start with the calendar, you can get to the correct reading for a particular day by clicking the links on the calendar.

Online orders of reading for the triennial cycle are available, as this example: http://www.hebcal.com/hebcal/; to see weekly readings, make sure you check the "Weekly sedrot on Saturdays" option under the "Include events" section on the left of the page. The calendar will have links to the readings for both the annual and the triennial cycles.

Regarding a prescribed order of reading for Muslims: the Encyclopedia of the Qu'ran notes the following about recitation of the text: "During the fasting month of Ramaḍān, the entire Qur'ān is read over the course of the month in night prayers called tarāwīḥ. One of the standard divisions of the Qur'ān is its partition into thirty equal, consecutive parts, or juz' (pl. ajzā'); this sectioning facilitates complete recitation over the course of a month. In addition, during Ramaḍān or during the days of the pilgrimage, pious Muslims may recite the entire Qur'ān in one night. Muslims read the Qur'ān frequently as an act of supererogatory piety, and recitation — especially at night — is performed by committed Muslims" (from the article "Recitation of the Qur'ān" by Anna M. Gade, in Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān, gen. ed. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Washington DC. Brill, 2009). This article goes on to mention some of the sūras that are frequently evoked in specific situations, with emphasis on the correct recitation (including pronunciation) of the Arabic. As best we know, there is not a "cycle" or "order of readings for the Qur'ān, other than the Ramadan division of readings.


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Readings for the Coming Week
Proper 19 (24) (September 12, 2010)
  • First reading and Psalm
    • Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
    • Psalm 14
  • Alternate First reading and Psalm
    • Exodus 32:7-14
    • Psalm 51:1-10
  • Second reading
    • 1 Timothy 1:12-17
  • Gospel
    • Luke 15:1-10
Table of Readings for the Current Season
Season after Pentecost (May 30, 2010 - November 25, 2010)

The above terms, "First Reading and Psalm," "Second Reading," "Gospel," etc., are organizational nomenclature that broadly categorize each day's readings. Seasonal variations in the organization of the readings result in differing groupings of scripture throughout the liturgical year, especially during the Season of Pentecost. To read more, click here.

During the Season of Pentecost, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two sets of parallel readings. "First" OT readings follow major stories/themes, read mostly continuously, beginning in Year A with Genesis and ending in Year C with the later prophets. "Alternate" OT readings follow the historical tradition of thematically pairing the OT reading with the Gospel reading. Whichever approach is chosen at the beginning of Pentecost, the intent is for the remaining Season of Pentecost readings to follow the same approach. In addition, both sets of readings offer "complementary" options (indicated by italics,) readings that may be used with, or in place of, the standard reading.

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