This accessible commentary, based on The Revised Common Lectionary and authored by the Rev. Dr. H. King Oehmig, is specially designed for use by anyone who wants to get more out of liturgical Sunday Scripture readings, and is perfect for lay readers, teachers, and outreach of all kinds. Oehmig, creator and Editor-in-Chief of Synthesis Publications, is also author of the highly regarded books Between the Lines, Reflections on the Gospels Through the Church Year and Beyond the Words: Insights on the Gospels Through the Church Year. The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Leaving Church, writes of Oehmig: "Week after week, Oehmig sweeps his meaning detector over packed-down texts and finds fresh treasure in them, largely by setting his dial to the frequency of the culture in which we live. As faithful to the Bible as he is to human life on earth, Oehmig makes surprising connections between the two ... and shows the rest of us how to do the same ... "
Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, December 2nd, all Episcopal
Churches are expected to start using the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for
the weekly Sunday readings during worship. ... Those who
like to study the lections each week will need to find appropriate new
resources for that study. For those of you who, like me, prefer to work with
an actual book or written commentary Understanding the Sunday Scriptures: A
Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary Year A is now available. It is
from H. King Oehmig, the editor of the previous Understanding the Sunday
Scriptures, Episcopal Edition. ... The new book also
includes the Collect of the Day, a reflection, several questions to discuss,
and a space for journaling each week. This book, which covers the entire
year, is available for $21.It
is comprehensive and based on good scholarship. -- Episcopal Life Magazine/Anglican Connections, November, 2007
Oehmig has succeeded in writing a book that is accessible and theologically sound. It could easily be used by a Bible Study group or Lectionary class. It could also be a valuable tool for individuals interested in probing further into the appointed readings. The "Points to Ponder" section that ends each discussion is especially helpful; it invites the reader to connect the readings with an application to his own life. -- The East Tennessee Episcopalean newsletter, August/September 2007
Old British Bishop John Robinsion often said that the pulpit is too often six feet above contradiction. Perhaps a most remarkable thing about King Oehmig's "Understanding the Sunday Scriptures" is that it moves sermon preparation off this dead center and, as jazz players say about the right tempo, puts it "in the pocket." The resources and patterns in this material bring the pulpit into the midst of the people where it belongs and make of it a collegial and integral part of the liturgical "flow" as it is intended to be.
This "companion" to the scriptures offers a most workable and orderly format not alone for the clergy, but as well through multiple uses for parish leaders, followers, and enquirers. It does this in a very user-friendly, step-by-step leading, almost an enticement of the reader from a clear, yet critical interpretation of the text through an "ah-ha" moment of reflection, then on to significant questions pointing the reader to a resourceful intentionality.
To understand does not mean so much to define or describe as it does to find meaning and foundation. King Oehmig's arresting study is a refreshing new pathfinder for bringing Holy Scripture alive in our time. -- The Reverend Lane Denson editor, The Covenant Journal
Week after week, Oehmig sweeps his meaning detector over packed-down texts and finds fresh treasure in them, largely by setting his dial to the frequency of the culture in which we live. As faithful to the Bible as he is to human life on earth, Oehmig makes surprising connections between the two... and shows the rest of us how to do the same. -- The Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor, recognized by Newsweek as "one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English language"
