[This overview was co-written by Karl N. Jacobson and Rolf A Jacobson.]¹

The Year of Mark: “God at the Center”

Year 2 in the Narrative Lectionary’s (NL) four-year cycle is the Year of Mark. This means that from the Christmas season through Easter, Gospel readings will come from Mark. In the fall, as in every year, the preaching texts come from the Old Testament, sampling the story of Israel’s Lord from creation in the garden (Genesis 2) through the return of the exiled Judeans from Babylon.

Narrative Lectionary users have asked for help dividing the year into smaller worship series. In response to that request, we have taken a stab at that task. Remember, the worship series below are only suggestions and are not meant to be binding.

We suggest that one way to frame the whole of Year 2 is to use the theme “God at the Center.” That theme is taken from this year’s “David story” -- in which David moves the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, thereby placing God at the physical center of the new capital and thus ...