This paper was prepared for the English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) for its meeting in Leuven (Be) August 2017 and is also posted on ELLC’s website .
Tables are provided for each Gospel, presenting the readings in biblical order.
Each reading is matched to the corresponding Sunday and/or holy day on which it arises in the 3-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary.
One can easily see which passages are omitted in the 3-year reading cycle.
The text is based on The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), 25th Anniversary Annotated Edition published by Fortress Press, Minneapolis 2012.
The following table gives the passages from John’s Gospel as they appear in biblical order. They are reference by the day and 3-year cycle. A figure in brackets ‘Proper 12 [17]’ references the Roman liturgical calendar.
Relationship with Roman Lectionary
The final column includes references to John’s Gospel in the Roman Lectionary for Sundays and Holydays. The relationship with the RCL is noted in the fourth column:
= the same text is used in both RCL and RL, e.g. on 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A the same passage is heard
~ a similar passage is used, e.g. on Proper 12 B, RCL has John 6:1–21, RL has John 6:1–15
≠ different texts are used, e.g. On 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A, the Roman Lectionary does not have John 3:1–17
Gospel according to John
| Reference | Day | Year | Roman Lectionary | |
| Jn 1:[1-9] 10-18 | Christmas 2 | ABC | ~ | Jn 1–18 |
| Jn 1:1-14 | Christmas Day 3 | ABC | ~ | Jn 1–18 |
| Jn 1:6-8, 19-28 | Advent 3 | B | = | |
| Jn 1:29-42 | Epiphany 2 [2] | A | ~ | Jn 1: 29-34 [2A], 1:35-42 [2B] |
| Jn 1:43-51 | Epiphany 2 [2] | B | ≠ | |
| Jn 2:1-11 | Epiphany 2 [2] | C | = | |
| Jn 2:12 | ||||
| Jn 2:13-22 | Lent 3 | B | ~ | Jn 2: 13-25 [L3B] |
| Jn 2: 23-25 | ~ | Jn 2: 13-25 [L3B] | ||
| Jn 3:1-17 | Lent 2 | A | ≠ | |
| Jn 3:1-17 | Trinity Sunday | B | ~ | Jn 3:16-18 [TrA] |
| Jn 3:13-17 | Holy Cross | ABC | = | |
| Jn 3:14-21 | Lent 4 | B | = | |
| Jn 3:22–36 | ||||
| Jn 4:1-4 | ||||
| Jn 4:5-42 | Lent 3 | A | = | |
| Jn 4:43-54 | ||||
| Jn 5:1-9 | Easter 6 | C | ≠ | |
| Jn 5:10–46 | ||||
| Jn 6:1-21 | Proper 12 [17] | B | ~ | Jn 6:1-15 |
| Jn 6:22–23 | ||||
| Jn 6:24-35 | Proper 13 [18] | B | = | |
| Jn 6:25-35 | Thanksgiving | C | ||
| Jn 6:35, 41-51 | Proper 14 [19] | B | ~ | Jn 6:41-51 |
| Jn 6:36-40 | ||||
| Jn 6:51-58 | Proper 15 [20] | B | = | |
| Jn 6:56-69 | Proper 16 I21] | B | ~ | Jn 6:60-69 |
| Jn 6:70-71 | ||||
| Jn 7:1-36 | ||||
| Jn 7:37-39 | Pentecost | A | = | |
| Jn 7: 40-52 | ||||
| Jn 8:1-59 | Jn 8: 1-11 [L5C] | |||
| Jn 9:1-41 | Lent 4 | A | ||
| Jn 10:1-10 | Easter 4 | A | = | |
| Jn 10:11-18 | Easter 4 | B | = | |
| Jn 10:19-21 | ||||
| Jn 10: 22-30 | Easter 4 | C | ~ | Jn 10: 27-30 |
| Jn 10:31-42 | ||||
| Jn 11:1-45 | Lent 5 | A | = | |
| Jn 11:32-44 | All Saints | B | ≠ | |
| Jn 11:46-57 | ||||
| Jn 12:1-8 | Lent 5 | C | ≠ | |
| Jn 12:1-11 | Mon of Holy Week | ABC | = | |
| Jn 12:12-16 | Passion/Palm Sun | B | = | |
| Jn 12:17-19 | ||||
| Jn 12:20-33 | Lent 5 | B | = | |
| Jn 12:20-36 | Tues of Holy Week | ABC | ≠ | |
| Jn 12:37-50 | ||||
| Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35 | Holy Thursday | ABC | ~ | Jn 13:1-15 |
| Jn 13:18–20 | ||||
| Jn 13:21-32 | Wed of Holy Week | ABC | ≠ | |
| Jn 13:31-35 | Easter 5 | C | ~ | Jn 13: 31-33a, 34-35 |
| Jn 13:36-38 | ||||
| Jn 14:1-14 | Easter 5 | A | ~ | Jn 14: 1–12 |
| Jn 14:8-17 [25-27] | Pentecost | C | ~ | Jn 14:15–16. 23–26 |
| Jn 14:15-21 | Easter 6 | A | = | |
| Jn 14:22 | ||||
| Jn 14:23-29 | Easter 6 | C | = | |
| Jn 14: 30-31 | ||||
| Jn 15:1-8 | Easter 5 | B | = | |
| Jn 15:9-17 | Easter 6 | B | = | |
| Jn 15:18-25 | ||||
| Jn 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 | Pentecost | B | ~ | Jn 15:26–27; 16:12–15 |
| Jn 16:1-4a | ||||
| Jn 16:12-15 | Trinity Sunday | C | = | |
| Jn 16:16-33 | ||||
| Jn 17:1-11 | Easter 7 | A | = | |
| Jn 17:6-19 | Easter 7 | B | = | |
| Jn 17:20-26 | Easter 7 | C | = | |
| Jn 18:1-19:42 | Good Friday | ABC | = | |
| Jn 18:33-37 | Reign of Christ [34] | B | = | |
| Jn 19:38-42 | Holy Saturday | ABC | ≠ | |
| Jn 20:1-18 | Easter | ABC | ~ | Jn 20:1–9 |
| Jn 20:19-23 | Pentecost | A | = | |
| Jn 20:19-31 | Easter 2 | ABC | = | |
| Jn 21:1-19 | Easter 3 | C | = | |
| Jn 21: 20-25 |
Table for Gospel of Matthew, indicating omitted passages but without comparison to Roman Lectionary
Gospel according to Matthew
| Mt 1:1–17 | ||
| Mt 1:18-25 | Advent 4 | A |
| Mt 2:1-12 | Epiphany | ABC |
| Mt 2:13-23 | Christmas I | A |
| Mt 3:1-12 | Advent 2 | A |
| Mt 3:13-17 | Baptism/Lord [1] | A |
| Mt 4:1-11 | Lent 1 | A |
| Mt 4:12-23 | Epiphany 3 [3] | A |
| Mt 4: 24-25 | ||
| Mt 5:1-12 | Epiphany 4 [4] | A |
| Mt 5:1-12 | All Saints | A |
| Mt 5:13-20 | Epiphany 5 [5] | A |
| Mt 5:21-37 | Epiphany 6 [6] | A |
| Mt 5:38-48 | Epiphany 7 [7] | A |
| Mt 6:1-6, 16-21 | Ash Wednesday | ABC |
| Mt 6:7-15 | ||
| Mt 6:24-34 | Epiphany 8 [8] | A |
| Mt 6:24-34 | Proper 3 [8] | A |
| Mt 6:25-33 | Thanksgiving | B |
| Mt 7:1-20 | ||
| Mt 7:21-29 | Epiphany 9 [9] | A |
| Mt 7:21-29 | Proper 4 [9] | A |
| Mt 8:1-34 | ||
| Mt 9:1-8 | ||
| Mt 9:9-13, 18-26 | Proper 5 [10] | A |
| Mt 9:14-17 | ||
| Mt 9: 27-34 | ||
| Mt 9:35-10:8 [9-23] | Proper 6 [11] | A |
| Mt 10:24-39 | Proper 7 [12] | A |
| Mt 10:40-42 | Proper 8 [13] | A |
| Mt 11:1 | ||
| Mt 11:2-11 | Advent 3 | A |
| Mt 11:12-15 | ||
| Mt 11:16-19, 25-30 | Proper 9 [14] | A |
| Mt 11:20-24 | ||
| Mt 12:1-50 | ||
| Mt 13:1-9, 18-23 | Proper 10 [15] | A |
| Mt 13:10-17 | ||
| Mt 13:24-30, 36-43 | Proper 21 [16] | A |
| Mt 13:34-35 | ||
| Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 | Proper 12 [17] | A |
| Mt 14:1-12 | ||
| Mt 14:13-21 | Proper 13 [18] | A |
| Mt 14:22-33 | Proper 14 [19] | A |
| Mt 14:34-36 | ||
| Mt 15:1-9 | ||
| Mt 15:[10-20] 21-28 | Proper 15 [20] | A |
| Mt 15:29-39 | ||
| Mt 16:1-12 | ||
| Mt 16:13-20 | Proper 16 [21] | A |
| Mt 16:21-28 | Proper 17 [22] | A |
| Mt 17:1-9 | Epiphany Last Trfg | A |
| Mt 17:1-9 | Lent 2 | A |
| Mt 17:10-27 | ||
| Mt 18:1-14 | ||
| Mt 18:15-20 | Proper 18 [23] | A |
| Mt 18:21-35 | Proper 19 [24] | A |
| Mt 19:1-30 | ||
| Mt 20:1-16 | Proper 20 [25] | A |
| Mt 20:17-34 | ||
| Mt 21:1-11 | Passion/Palm Sun | A |
| Mt 21:12-22 | ||
| Mt 21:23-32 | Proper 21 [26] | A |
| Mt 21:33-46 | Proper 22 [27] | A |
| Mt 22:1-14 | Proper 23 [28] | A |
| Mt 22:15-22 | Proper 24 [29] | A |
| Mt 22:23-32 | ||
| Mt 22:34-46 | Proper 25 [30] | A |
| Mt 23:1-12 | Proper 26 I31] | A |
| Mt 23:13-39 | ||
| Mt 24:1-35 | ||
| Mt 24:36-44 | Advent 1 | A |
| Mt 25: 45-50 | ||
| Mt 25:1-13 | Proper 27 [32] | A |
| Mt 25:14-30 | Proper 28 [33] | A |
| Mt 25:31-46 | New Year’s Day | ABC |
| Mt 25:31-46 | Reign of Christ [34] | A |
| Mt 26:1-13 | ||
| Mt 26:14-27:66 | Passion/Palm Sun | A |
| Mt 27:11-54 | Passion/Palm Sun | A |
| Mt 27:57-66 | Holy Saturday | ABC |
| Mt 28:1-10 | Easter Vigil | A |
| Mt 28:1-10 | Easter | A |
| Mt 28:11-15 | ||
| Mt 28:16-20 | Trinity Sunday | A |
Gospel according to Mark
Table for Gospel of Mark, indicating omitted passages but without comparison to Roman Lectionary
| Mk 1:1-8 | Advent 2 | B |
| Mk 1:4-11 | Baptism/Lord [1] | B |
| Mk 1:9-15 | Lent 1 | B |
| Mk 1:14-20 | Epiphany 3 [3] | B |
| Mk 1:21-28 | Epiphany 4 [4] | B |
| Mk 1:29-39 | Epiphany 5 [5] | B |
| Mk 1:40-45 | Epiphany 6 [6] | B |
| Mk 2:1-12 | Epiphany 7 [7] | B |
| Mk 2:13-22 | Epiphany 8 [8] | B |
| Mk 2:13-22 | Proper 3 [8] | B |
| Mk 2:23-3:6 | Epiphany 9 [9] | B |
| Mk 2:23-3:6 | Proper 4 [9] | B |
| Mk 3:7-19 | ||
| Mk 3:20-35 | Proper 5 [10] | B |
| Mk 4:1-25 | ||
| Mk 4:26-34 | Proper 6 [11] | B |
| Mk 4:35 41 | Proper 7 [12] | B |
| Mk 5:1-20 | ||
| Mk 5:21-43 | Proper 8 [13] | B |
| Mk 6:1-13 | Proper 9 [14] | B |
| Mk 6:14-29 | Proper 10 [15] | B |
| Mk 6:30-34, 53-56 | Proper 11 [16] | B |
| Mk 6:35-52 | ||
| Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 | Proper 17 [22] | B |
| Mk 7:9-13 | ||
| Mk 7:16-20 | ||
| Mk 7:24-37 | Proper 18 [23] | B |
| Mk 8:1-26 | ||
| Mk 8:27-38 | Proper 19 [24] | B |
| Mk 8:31-38 | Lent 2 | B |
| Mk 9:1 | ||
| Mk 9:2-9 | Epiphany Last Trfg | B |
| Mk 9:2-9 | Lent 2 | B |
| Mk 9:10-29 | ||
| Mk 9:30-37 | Proper 20 [25] | B |
| Mk 9:38-50 | Proper 21 [26] | B |
| Mk 10:1 | ||
| Mk 10:2-16 | Proper 22 [27] | B |
| Mk 10:17-31 | Proper 23 [28] | B |
| Mk 10:32-34 | ||
| Mk 10:35-45 | Proper 24 [29) | B |
| Mk 10:46-52 | Proper 25 [30] | B |
| Mk 11:1-11 | Passion/Palm Sun | B |
| Mk 11:12-33 | ||
| Mk 12:1-27 | ||
| Mk 12:28-34 | Proper 26 [31] | B |
| Mk 12: 35-38 | ||
| Mk 12:38-44 | Proper 27 [32] | B |
| Mk 13:1-8 | Proper 28 [33] | B |
| Mk 13:9-23 | ||
| Mk 13:24-37 | Advent 1 | B |
| Mk 14:1-15:47 | Passion/Palm Sun | B |
| Mk 15:1-39 [40-47] | Passion/Palm Sun | B |
| Mk 16:1-8 | Easter Vigil | B |
| Mk 16:1-8 | Easter | B |
| Mk 16:9-20 |
Table for Gospel of Luke, indicating omitted passages but without comparison to Roman Lectionary
Gospel according to Luke
| Lk 1:1-25 | ||
| Lk 1:26-38 | Annunciation | ABC |
| Lk 1:26-38 | Advent 4 | B |
| Lk 1:39-45 (46-55] | Advent 4 | C |
| Lk 1:39-57 | Visitation | ABC |
| Lk 1:46b-55 | Advent 3 | AB |
| Lk 1:46b-55 | Advent 4 | BC |
| Lk 1:58-67 | ||
| Lk 1:68-79 | Advent 2 | C |
| Lk 1:68-79 | Reign of Christ [34] | C+ |
| Lk 1:80 | ||
| Lk 2:1-14 [15-20] | Christmas Day 1 | ABC |
| Lk 2:[1-7] 8-20 | Chrlstmas Day 2 | ABC |
| Lk 2:15-21 | Holy Name | ABC |
| Lk 2:22-40 | Presentation | ABC |
| Lk 2:22-40 | Christmas I | B |
| Lk 2:41~52 | Christmas l | C |
| Lk 3:1-6 | Advent 2 | C |
| Lk 3:7-18 | Advent 3 | C |
| Lk 3:19-20 | ||
| Lk 3:15-17, 21-22 | Baptism/Lord [l] | C |
| Lk 3:23-38 | ||
| Lk 4:1-13 | Lent 1 | C |
| Lk 4:14-21 | Epiphany 3 [3] | C |
| Lk 4:21-30 | Epiphany 4 [4] | C |
| Lk 4:31-44 | ||
| Lk 5:1-11 | Epiphany 5 [5] | C |
| Lk 5:12-39 | ||
| Lk 6:1-16 | ||
| Lk 6:17-26 | Epiphany 6 [6] | C |
| Lk 6:20-31 | All Saints | B |
| Lk 6:27-38 | Epiphany 7 [7] | C |
| Lk 6:39-49 | Epiphany 8 [81 | C |
| Lk 6:39-49 | Proper 3 [8] | C |
| Lk 7:1-10 | Epiphany 9 [91 | C |
| Lk 7:1-10 | Proper 4 [9] | C |
| Lk 7:11-17 | Proper 5 [10] | C |
| Lk 7:18-35 | ||
| Lk 7:36-8:3 | Proper 6 [11] | C |
| Lk 8:4-25 | ||
| Lk 8:26-39 | Proper 7 [12] | C |
| Lk 8:40-56 | ||
| Lk 9:1-27 | ||
| Lk 9:28-36 | Lent 2 | C |
| Lk 9:28-36 [37-43a] | Epiphany Last Trfg | C |
| Lk 9:43-50 | ||
| Lk 9:51~62 | Proper 8 [13] | C |
| Lk 10:1-11,16-20 | Proper 9 [14] | C |
| Lk 10:12-15 | ||
| Lk 10:21-24 | ||
| Lk 10:25-37 | Proper 10 [15] | C |
| Lk 10:38-42 | Proper 11 [16] | C |
| Lk 11:1-13 | Proper 12 [17] | C |
| Lk 11:14-54 | ||
| Lk 12:1-12 | ||
| Lk 12:13-21 | Proper 13 [18] | C |
| Lk 12:22-31 | ||
| Lk 12:32-40 | Proper 14 [19] | C |
| Lk 12:41-48 | ||
| Lk 12:49-56 | Proper 15 [20] | C |
| Lk 12:57-59 | ||
| Lk 13:1-9 | Lent 3 | C |
| Lk 13:10-17 | Proper 16 [21] | C |
| Lk 13:18-30 | ||
| Lk 13:31-35 | Lent 2 | C |
| Lk 14:1, 7-14 | Proper 17 [22] | C |
| Lk 14:2-6 | ||
| Lk 14:15-24 | ||
| Lk 14:25-33 | Proper 18 [23] | C |
| Lk 14:34-35 | ||
| Lk 15:1-3, 11b-32 | Lent 4 | C |
| Lk 15:1-10 | Proper 19 I24] | C |
| Lk 15:11a | ||
| Lk 16:1-13 | Proper 20 [25] | C |
| Lk 16:14-18 | ||
| Lk 16:19-31 | Proper 21 I26] | C |
| Lk 17: 1-4 | ||
| Lk 17:5-10 | Proper 22 [27] | C |
| Lk 17:11-19 | Thanksgiving | A |
| Lk 17:11-19 | Proper 23 [28] | C |
| Lk 17:20-37 | ||
| Lk 18:1-8 | Proper 24 [29] | C |
| Lk 18:9-14 | Proper 25 [30] | C |
| Lk 18:15-43 | ||
| Lk 19:1-10 | Proper 26 [31] | C |
| Lk 19:11-27 | ||
| Lk 19:28-40 | Passion/Palm Sun | C |
| Lk 19:41-48 | ||
| Lk 20:1-26 | ||
| Lk 20:27-38 | Proper 27 [32] | C |
| Lk 20:39-47 | ||
| Lk 21:1-4 | ||
| Lk 21:5-19 | Proper 28 [33] | C |
| Lk 21:20-24 | ||
| Lk 21:25-36 | Advent I | C |
| Lk 21:37-38 | ||
| Lk 22:1-13 | ||
| Lk 22:14-23:56 | Passion/Palm Sun | C |
| Lk 23:1-49 | Passion/Palm Sun | C |
| Lk 23:33-43 | Reign of Christ [34] | C |
| Lk 24:1-12 | Easter Vigil | C |
| Lk 24:1-12 | Easter | C |
| Lk 24:13-35 | Easter 3 | A |
| Lk 24:13-49 | Easter Evening | ABC |
| Lk 24:36b-48 | Easter 3 | B |
| Lk 24:44-53 | Ascension | ABC |
The question behind this paper is in three-year Lectionary cycle where each year focuses on one of the synoptic Gospels how much of John’s Gospel is heard and how much omitted. Based on verse count the following percentage of each Gospel is included in the Revised Common Lectionary.
Matthew (A) 62%
Mark (B) 68%
Luke (C) 60%
John 68%
Passages from John’s Gospel are proclaimed in each year of the Lectionary Cycle and the percentage of the whole Gospel read in each year is:
Year A 37%
Year B 40%
Year C 31%
These percentages combined are greater than 100% because for days, such as Good Friday, when the same text is read each year the passage is often taken from John’s Gospel. These figures support the idea of referring to a Year of Matthew and John, Mark and John, and Luke and John.
This paper was contributed by Martin Foster for inclusion on Worship Words. Martin is a member of the Joint Liturgy Group of Great Britain, Director of the Liturgy Office, Assistant Secretary of the Department for Christian Life and Worship for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
