The NZ Lectionary booklet has the instruction for the Day of Pentecost, “The reading from Acts must be used as either the 1st or 2nd reading”. This is a newish instruction in the NZ lectionary booklet – it was not present previous to 2012.
In the version of the The Revised Common Lectionary: The Consultation on Common Texts
I can imagine, however, this instruction confusing Kiwi Anglicans – especially those who have only one or two readings at a service! Some call the psalm in the lectionary a “reading” and so regard what the lectionary provides as 4 reading options. For them, this lectionary booklet instruction (without, as you see in the image above, the titles) could be understood as having Acts replace the Psalm…
It is not unknown to be at a service in NZ Anglicanism to hear, “A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Galatians…”! So I imagine there could very well be a reading from “the Holy Gospel according to Acts”…
My presumption is that in ordinary parish worship, Sunday Eucharist should have: first reading, psalm, second reading, Gospel. I can, of course, visualise, beyond ordinary parish worship, contexts where this fare might be reduced by,say, one reading. I know some just have a single reading – and I wonder how they respond to this lectionary booklet instruction – do they read solely from Acts? What would be the understanding of the lectionary booklet in an only-one-reading context [remembering the lectionary booklet is not binding or agreed to]?
It seems to me that the lectionary booklet itself works from the same “first reading, psalm, second reading, Gospel” presumption as I do. I suspect better wording might be, “The reading from Acts must be used.” Another option is to use the layout and titles and then instruction of the RCL as I describe. This takes more room – an issue for printing, but obviously not in digital versions.
The introduction of “must” language into our NZ Anglican liturgical life (alongside increasing use of “should”) is to be noted as a swing in the pendulum away from “anything goes”.
Today is the Forty-seventh day of Easter.
Just don’t do what I did as a lector on Pentecost some years ago: Didn’t review the book on the lectern beforehand and went up to read the first lesson. The book was mistakenly open to the Ezekiel lesson that is provided for parishes who have Morning Prayer as their main service (and therefore need an Old Testament lesson), and I figured someone wanted me to read that, so I did. The preacher had to read out the Acts lesson before preaching so it would make sense.
The climate of ‘anything goes’ was always a problem for liturgically-minded people you you and me, Bosco. Quite antithetical to the ordered, disciplined use of the Lectionary in Eucharistic worship.
Enjoy your celebration of Pentecost – On The Day, of course! (and, perhaps, at First Evensong on Saturday.) Ill take that as Red!