THEOLOGICAL CLUE

The eschatological framework of the church year remains in place, but it does little or nothing to reveal any theological clue for worship and preaching or any specific theme for this Sunday. The church year does exert biblical and homiletical influence, however, in continuing to set aside September 21 as St. Matthew's Day. Those who have been preaching on the Gospel of St. Matthew may wish to take advantage of the opportunity to connect the man and his message in a sermon.

It might be even more helpful, if one were to preach about the gospel writers just before one began preaching on the Gospels they have written; in such a case, the festival of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, would have been celebrated a year ago, and St. Mark and St. John should be preached this …