Good question

My father, who was a high school teacher for almost forty years, used to tell his students the same thing most teachers tell their students, "There is no such thing as a silly question." I'm not sure that's universally true, but the point is well taken: if you have a question about something, the odds are good that someone else does too. To that end, I was emailed a not-so-silly question this morning and perhaps you were wondering the same thing...

• Q: The top of yesterday's bulletin had the title "17th Sunday in Ordinary Time." What does that mean?
• A: It refers to the date on the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of Scripture readings that takes us through most of the Bible. Unless otherwise noted, the text or texts that I preach from come from one of the readings from this schedule (there is generally an Old Testament, a Psalm, a Gospel, and an Epistle reading). I like to use it for preaching because it helps me to look at the whole of Scripture as I listen for God's voice. I think it's good for us as a congregation because the seasons of the church add a different spiritual dimension to our worship life. Different people and denominations give these seasons different names, but the one I follow generally goes: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, a few special Sundays like Pentecost and Baptism of the Lord, and the rest are called Ordinary Time.

If you have questions that you fear might seem silly, go ahead and email them to me. If I think it might be a question that others might share, I will post it with your name withheld.