10/29/2019

December 2019 Lectionary Preview: The Gift of God’s Presence

by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa

December 2019 lectionary texts are related to presence, or, for the Advent/Christmastide season, we can say they portray God’s present of God’s presence. In other words, God’s gift to us is God’s self. And when God’s self is present, people and things necessarily change.

The lectionary texts will speak of God’s presence that brings light and calls forth readiness and repentance and the Lord’s imminent immanence which brings peace and reconciliation. The texts will recall the Lord’s provision in the parched deserts of life and the challenging wildernesses of our journey, the Lord’s present of infant kings and of the infant Savior that expressed Immanuel God-with-us.

The scriptures will also remind us of the presence of the Lord in the grand and little things of life and history that shows God’s care for every part of creation, the presence of God’s Word and the coming of God’s Word made flesh, and the God who is absolutely personal and personally absolute as the Lord pursues us and all of creation in love for justice and righteousness.

Click on an image below to be directed to the lectionary for that date.

First Sunday of Advent
December 1
Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12
 

 

Third Sunday of Advent
December 15
Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 22
Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25
 

 

Christmas Eve
December 24
Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-4 (15-20)
Christmas Day
December 25
Isaiah 52:7-10; John 1:1-4
 

 

First Sunday of Christmas
December 29
Isaiah 63:7-9; Matthew 2:13-23
Rev. Dr. Neal Presa

Rev. Dr. Neal Presa

The Rev. Neal D. Presa, Ph.D. is Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of San José. He also serves as Affiliate Associate Professor of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Senior Fellow of The Center for Pastor Theologians. He is past chair (2020-2022) and vice chair (2018-2020) of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Foundation. He served as Moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012-2014), and he currently represents the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on the World Council of Churches Central Committee and Executive Committee, where he is moderator of the finance policy committee. He is moderator of the Theology Working Group for the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ 27th General Council (2025, Chiang Mai). He is author/(co-)editor of nine books and over 100 essays, journal articles, and book reviews, including the recent Worship, Justice, and Joy: A Liturgical Pilgrimage (Cascade, 2025), as part of the Worship & Witness series in partnership with the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship and with funding from the Louisville Institute. For two decades he served congregations in New Jersey and California, and as a senior administrative faculty and visiting professor/research fellow in theological institutions in the United States, Philippines, and South Africa. He is married to Grace née Rhie (a publisher of English books on Korean subjects) and they have two college age sons. Connect with Neal on social media @NealPresa or email Neal@sanjosepby.org.

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