000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

ut then the lectionary departs from the great story line of the Old Testament
while attending to readings from Year B for Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. In the latter half of Year B, the congregation
hears the Davidic covenant and Wisdom motifs, only to be interrupted by
the Advent through Pentecost readings from Year C before taking up the
Prophets.
Given such fragmentation, James A. Sanders, a biblical scholar who
taught for many years at the Claremont School of Theology, has proposed
that the church create an alternative lectionary that is centered in telling
the story of the Old Testament. 8 Such a lectionary would not follow the
seasons of the Christian Year (except, perhaps, at Christmas and Easter)
but would follow the story of Israel in sequence from creation through the
ancestral narratives, the exodus, the entry into the promised land, the
judges, the monarchy (united and divided), the exile, and return. It could
also incorporate Jewish materials from the Hellenistic age.
Suggestions for Preaching on the Old Testament
Introduction xix
Preachers can do several things to give the Old Testament a greater presence
in the pulpit. The simplest action is to preach frequently from the
Old Testament. While this will not work every Sunday, a preacher might
set a goal of preaching at least two Sundays a month using the reading
from the Old Testament as the basis of the sermon.
When the relationship between the reading from the Old Testament
and the reading from the Gospel is exegetically and theologically appropriate,
the preacher can bring this information into the sermon. When the
readings have little relationship, the preacher might consider exchanging
the assigned text from the Old Testament for one that is more appropriate,
or might consider changing the reading from the Second Testament.
For example, texts in the New Testament often quote or directly allude to
passages from the Old Testament that help explain the material in the
New Testament passage. Preachers who discover such a direct literary or
theological relationship between particular texts in the two testaments
might replace one of the readings in the lectionary with a passage that
overtly relates to the other passage. Preachers encounter such a situation
on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany/Year C, when selections from
Nehemiah 8 (Ezra’s sermon on the law) are paired with Luke 4:14–20
(Jesus’ sermon at Nazareth). The Lukan passage actually quotes Isaiah
61:1–2 and 58:6. The preacher is well advised to replace Nehemiah 8 with
the readings from Isaiah.