Second Sunday of Lent: Psalm 121 and Matthew 17:1-9

Greetings, Duffy.

I am slightly disappointed with N.T. Wright's Lenten devotional today. Instead of keeping us in the Gospel of Matthew, Wright is switching every Sunday to the appointed psalm for Year A in the Anglican Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). I don't have anything against Psalm 121, of course, but I wanted him to stay in Matthew!

I should also point out that the 1662 Book of Common Prayer on the Anglican side features Matthew 15:21-28 (the Canaanite Woman) as the Gospel reading for this Sunday, not Matthew 17:1-9 (the Transfiguration) as it appears in the 1962 Roman Missal. I have taken a deep dive into this discrepancy, and the situation is a little bit complicated, but it appears that the Canaanite Woman is actually the more ancient of the two Sunday readings:

"The association of the Transfiguration with Lent in the West actually began with Ember Saturday (the Saturday after the first Sunday of Lent). In the ancient Roman lectionary, the Transfiguration was read during the long Saturday vigil; it was only later 'duplicated' onto the following Sunday to ensure the general congregation heard it."

That must be why it appears twice in a row as our Gospel reading in the 1962 Roman Missal, both yesterday (Saturday) and today. Here is a little more detail: