Psalms Year B

I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020 shortly after we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom.  Many churches use the revised common lectionary that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C).  Starting in Advent 2019, Third Church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C.  Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. Reflections exploring the Psalms in year D.  While we were using Year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A.  Now that we are rejoining those who use the lectionary, we are on Year B.  This we hope will keep all of us planning and preparing worship on the same page.  

I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections when I’m following the Revised Common Lectionary.

I plan to use the same format as I have for the other Psalm reflections. It has been adapted over time and I imagine it will continue to change slightly. I base the changes on feedback from congregation members and blog readers so don’t be shy about commenting or emailing. The two examples of breath prayer I currently have come from other people who knew I was doing these types of reflections. If you haven’t seen the Psalms in Year D reflections these are the links I’m referring to:

Nicole Cardoza’s Guided Meditation For Anxiety
Try this short meditation, created by Yoga Foster and Reclamation Ventures founder Nicole Cardoza, the next time you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious.  Read in Yoga Journal.

Mr. Roger’s “Taking a breath”  This one is short, but Mr. Roger’s voice is calming for me (and many Pittsburghers) and even his virtual presence can summon childhood memories of calmness and safety.  

I considered making a video, but I’m not sure that I can make something better than what is already out there. Again, I’m relying on feedback to figure out what would be helpful.

Below is a list of Psalms from Lectionary Year B. I plan to update this list with links to the blog posts:

Advent – Transfiguration: 1^st Sunday in Advent Psalm 80, 2^nd Sunday in Advent Psalm 85, 3^rd Sunday in Advent Psalm 126, 4^th Sunday in Advent Psalm 89, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 1^st Sunday after Christmas, Psalm 148, New Year’s Day Psalm 8, 2^nd Sunday after Christmas Psalm 147, Epiphany Psalm 72, 1^st Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 29, 2^nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 139, 3^rd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 62, 4^th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 111, 5^th Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 147, Transfiguration Sunday (Sunday before Lent) Psalm 50

Lent: Ash Wednesday Psalm 51, 1^st Sunday in Lent Psalm 25, 2^nd Sunday in Lent Psalm 22, 3^rd Sunday in Lent Psalm 19, 4^th Sunday in Lent Psalm 107, 5^th Sunday in Lent Psalm 51 or Psalm 119:9-16, 6^th Sunday in Lent (Palm or Passion Sunday) Psalm 118 or 31

Holy Week: Monday Psalm 36, Tuesday Psalm 71, Wednesday Psalm 70, Maundy Thursday Psalm 116, Good Friday Psalm 22, Holy Saturday Psalm 31

Easter: Easter Psalm 118 or 114, 2^nd Sunday of Easter Psalm 133, 3^rd Sunday of Easter Psalm 4, 4^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 23, 5^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 22, 6^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 98, Ascension Psalm 47 or Psalm 93, 7^th Sunday of Easter Psalm 1, Day of Pentecost Psalm 104

Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time): 1^st Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) Psalm 29, 2^nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 138 or Psalm 130, 3^rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 20 or Psalm 92, 4^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 9 or Psalm 133 or Psalm 107, 5^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 30, 6^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 48 or Psalm 123, 7^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 24 or Psalm 85, 8^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 89 or Psalm 23, 9^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 14 or Psalm 145, 10^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 51 or Psalm 78, 11^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 130 or Psalm 34, 12^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 111 or Psalm 34, 13^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 84 or Psalm 34, 14^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 45 or Psalm 15, 15^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 125 or Psalm 146, 16^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 19 or Psalm 116, 17^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 1 or Psalm 54, 18^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 or Psalm 19, 19^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 26 or Psalm 8, 20^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 22 or Psalm 90, 21^st Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 104 or Psalm 91, 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 34 or Psalm 126, 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 146 or 119, 24^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 127 or Psalm 146, 25^th Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 16, 26^th Sunday after Pentecost (Christ the King) Psalm 132 or Psalm 93.

Sources and notes:

WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.

Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.

Brueggemann Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.

Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Mays Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Miller Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.

Schlimm Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.

Spong Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.

WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.

OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.