Notes before beginning
I am going to try to respond to the daily lectionary readings during Advent. This is partially to give myself a structure as we start into the Advent season and partially just to see if I can do it. Before we begin, it seems a few notes are in order. For those not familiar with the liturgical church year, it begins with Advent which lasts four weeks. Christmas is celebrated for twelve days followed by Epiphany, which celebrates the visit of the magi to the Christ child. Following Epiphany comes the first section of Ordinary time, a time without a specific festival day. Lent, lasting for forty days is next, starting on Ash Wednesday. Lent ends with Holy Week, culminating with Easter. Easter is then celebrated for fifty days... forty days from resurrection to ascension, then ten more days until Pentecost. After Pentecost comes the second, and longer period of Ordinary time which lasts until Advent rolls around again. The lectionary is a proscribed set of Scripture readings either for