Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for June 1, 2025 (Easter 7C)

A Jailer, Paul, Silas, and the Jailer’s Family (1893); bronze metalwork panel on the north door of Trinity Church, Manhattan. Design by Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895), produced by Charles Henry Hiehaus; Donated by William Waldorf Astor in memory of his father, John Jacob Astor III. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 16:16-34

On this last Sunday of Eastertide, our first reading finds Paul still in Philippi, where he encounters a woman possessed by a demon. She has been held as a slave by men who present her as a fortune teller because her loud shouts sound prophetic. She follows Paul and Silas around, declaring them “slaves of the most high God,” until Paul, annoyed, silences her shouts by casting the spirit out of her. Her masters, angry because her healing means the loss of their income, have Paul and his companions jailed for disturbing the peace. When they pray for relief, an earthquake bursts open the prison doors and breaks their chains. Paul and his companions refuse to leave, though, to protect the jailer from punishment. The grateful jailer asks them how he can be saved, and Paul tells him to believe in Christ.

Psalm: Psalm 97

This psalm of thanks and praise begins with language that may seem difficult for modern ears. It confronts us with the loud, chest-thumping shouts of Bronze Age warriors, a poetic genre that’s difficult to imagine in a modern context. Perhaps it’s best to peek at the ending of this story to see how it comes out: It’s a happy ending, reassuring us that God brings light and joy for the righteous and the upright in heart. Practice righteousness, the Psalmist advises. Insist on justice for the weak, not just for the strong; resist evil, and give thanks that God loves us.

Second Reading: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

At the end of Pentecost, we come to the closing verses of Revelation. This lectionary passage skips past a couple of alarming verses, apparently in order to focus on Revelation’s promise: Many in the early church expected that the Lamb – the sacrificed and resurrected Jesus Christ – would return soon, perhaps even during their own lifetimes. Two thousand years later, we recognize that life, eternity, and God’s kingdom aren’t that simple. But Revelation’s message of the Lamb still brings us hope: “Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. … Come, Lord Jesus!”

Gospel: John 17:20-26

John’s extended four-chapter narrative that we hear in parts during Eastertide started after Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet and celebrated a last supper with them. Now it concludes, just before Jesus will go out to the garden to pray, where Judas and the soldiers will come in the night to take him away to be brought before Pilate and crucified. In these familiar verses, we hear Jesus asking God to love everyone just as God has loved Jesus. Yes, everyone: Jesus prays not only for his friends in the room then and there, but asks God to love all the people of the world, promising that all who believe in him “may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 18, 2025 (Easter 5C)

Peter Preaching (1433). Altarpiece panel by Fra Angelico (1400-1455). Museo di San Marco, Florence, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 11:1-18

God’s love is for everyone, not just a few: This inclusive message resonates through Sunday’s readings. In our first reading from Acts, we hear Peter explaining to his fellow Jewish Christians that a vision from God had made clear to him that Christ’s message was not intended just for them but for Gentiles as well. The idea that the gift of the Spirit could be shared with Gentiles through baptism without requiring them first to convert to Judaism must have seemed new and strange to them all. But God’s message to Peter was unambiguous: Go and baptize the Roman centurion Cornelius and his whole family.

Psalm: Psalm 148

In the remaining weeks of Eastertide, we move to the closing chapters of Revelation. In this apocalyptic vision, Heaven and Earth and all that is old have passed away, and everything is new! Earth and sea, all creation as we knew it is no more. Reversing the idea that the souls of humans will rise to a lofty Heaven, we see God coming down from Heaven to Earth instead in a New Jerusalem in which God comes to live with mortals as Jesus Christ had done. In verses often read during the remembrance of a loved one’s life, we hear that God will wipe away tears and banish mourning, crying, and pain; God will quench all thirst with the water of life, and death will be no more!

Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

In the remaining weeks of Eastertide we move to the closing chapters of Revelation. Heaven and Earth have passed away in this apocalyptic vision. Everything has changed! Earth and sea and all creation as we knew it is no more. Now God is coming to Earth to live with mortals, as Jesus Christ had done; all humanity will be God’s people, and God will be with them in a world where all things are new. God will wipe away tears and banish mourning, crying and pain; God will quench all thirst with the water of life. Death will be no more!

Gospel: John 13:31-35

In Eastertide, we have remembered Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection and moved on to his mysterious appearances to his overjoyed followers. But now Sunday’s Gospel takes us back in time, remembering Jesus and the apostles as they gather for the Last Supper. Judas has just sneaked out to go betray Jesus, so we know that Jesus’s passion and death lie ahead. Yet Jesus begins his last words to his friends by reminding them all to love. In loving one another, loving our neighbors, loving even our enemies, Jesus provides clear instructions to love all of God’s people, and through this abundant, universal love to show the world how Jesus loves us all.

em>Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 11, 2025 (Easter 4C)

St. Peter Reviving Tabitha (1618), oil painting on canvas by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, “Il Guercino” (1591-1666). Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence. Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 9:36-43

Even in the midst of difficulty, we always have hope in God. This encouraging theme resonates through today’s readings, reminding us that God protects us, feeds us, washes away our tears, and offers us life. Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells of the sudden death of Tabitha. This loss must have hit the infant church hard, as this hard-working disciple was known for her acts of charity, and she made clothes for the group. Peter, filled with the Spirit, brings her back to life with a prayer and a command, just as Jesus had done with Lazarus and others.

Psalm: Psalm 23

The beloved 23rd Psalm is so familiar that many of us could probably recite it from memory, perhaps in the cadences of King James. Sometimes, though, too much familiarity can rob us of the beauty of rediscovering the details. Try reading it this week with fresh eyes and mind, taking it slowly, one verse at a time. Breathe deeply and visualize yourself and your loved ones in each line; walking with God through the green pastures, past the still waters and through the dark valley, then sitting down at God’s table for an unforgettable banquet. God loves us all, always. What could be more comforting than that?

Second Reading: Revelation 7:9-17

We remain through Eastertide in the strange land of Revelation, a book that was written in symbolic language to inspire and reassure the people of a persecuted first century church. We don’t look to it for prophecy for modern times, or at least we shouldn’t. But when we read it as metaphor and tradition, we can find hope for all ages in its verses. In this passage we see a multitude worshiping the Lamb. This is not an exclusive gathering of insiders but a worldwide crowd incorporating all colors, languages and nations. Everyone is included! The closing verses continue offering reassurance and hope: The Lamb will be our good shepherd, guiding us beside the still waters, protecting us from danger and delivering us from hunger and thirst.

Gospel: John 10:22-30

John’s Gospel, like all four Gospels, reflects life in the early church during a time of conflict between early Christians and the Jewish community in which they had been included. This passage reveals that conflict in John’s interpretation of Jesus’ critical response to Jewish leaders. John places this confrontation symbolically in the Temple’s portico of Solomon, the place where kingly judgments were traditionally rendered. In our modern understanding, we can look past the harsh words to see love and hope for all nations in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, whose works show that he will protect his flock and care for his sheep, Christ’s body on Earth.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 4, 2025 (Easter 3C)

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1515), full-size drawing for a fresco by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael, 1483-1520). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 9:1-20

How do we recognize God in our lives? How do we respond when God calls? Consider Saul in Sunday’s first reading. Early Christians had every reason to fear Saul: a frightening figure, a Pharisee angry with the unorthodox new Messianic movement, Saul persecuted the Christians with all his strength. But when Jesus confronted Saul in a blinding vision on the road to Damascus, everything changed. Saul’s vision reveals that, in persecuting those who follow Jesus, Saul was persecuting Jesus himself. Saul’s anger melts away with his restored vision. Saul becomes Paul, who will go on to take Christianity to the world with a convert’s zeal.

Psalm: Psalm 30

Psalm 30 is framed as a hymn of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude to God for the Psalmist’s recovery from a serious illness. Its verses resonate with the experience of Saul in the first reading, who evolved from hatred to life in Christ, and with Peter in the Gospel, who bravely proclaimed Jesus after having denied him three times. In this psalm we sing out in faith that while sadness and anger are short-lived, the joy of God’s favor lives forever. “Weeping may spend the night,” we pray in this familiar verse, “but joy comes in the morning.”

Second Reading: Revelation 5:11-14

In last week’s reading from Revelation, we heard the prophecy that Christ would be “ruler of the kings of the earth.” This week, a few chapters further along, we visualize a scene of triumphant heavenly worship including all creation. All the angels and elders of heaven, all the creatures of heaven and earth, humans and animals from land and sky and sea, all these join in worship and song. Together, they sing a majestic hymn, filled with symbolic language, that reveals an unexpected surprise: Jesus’s kingship is not that of a roaring lion or any earthly ruler, but a lamb, a vulnerable creature, symbol of the Passover. This is a victim who once was slaughtered but now is raised and glorified for all.

Gospel: John 21:1-19

Seven of the disciples are back home in Galilee, perhaps seeking a break from the emotions of Jesus’s crucifixion, resurrection, and mysterious appearances. They take their boat out to go fishing at night, but have no luck. Suddenly, a stranger appears on the shore and suggests that they cast their net on the other side of the boat. As they haul in a huge load, they recognize that the stranger is Jesus. Peter jumps into the water and heads for shore, followed by the delighted crew. Jesus serves them fish and bread from a charcoal fire; then Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter, apparently forgetting how recently he had denied Jesus three times, is offended that Jesus has to ask this repeatedly. Then Jesus directs Peter, “Feed my lambs. … Feed my sheep,” and calls him, as he had done at the beginning of his ministry: “Follow me.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 27, 2025 (Easter 2C)

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c.1601-1602), oil painting on canvas by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, Berlin, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 5:27-32

Jesus has died and Christ has risen, but tension continues between Christ-followers and the Temple establishment. We’ll be hearing passages from the Acts of the Apostles as our first readings during Eastertide. In Sunday’s reading we learn that the apostles have continued teaching, preaching and healing in Jesus’ way, and all this uproar has the authorities worried that these efforts are going to bring trouble. In the verses before these, we read that they locked Peter and the apostles in jail, but an angel set them free. Now the authorities try persuasion instead, but the apostles, recognizing a higher mission, push back: God has called them to spread the Word, they say; and that mission trumps any human authority.

Psalm: Psalm 118:14-29

Portions of Psalm 118 have seen us through these holy days, as the Lectionary returns to parts of its verses on Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, and now the Sunday after Easter. Once more we chant the covenant accepted by Moses at Mount Sinai, a commitment that Jesus also taught. We pledge to practice justice in our lives; to serve God, our neighbor, the poor and the stranger, seeking through righteousness to enter the glory of God. Finally the psalm addresses God directly: Giving thanks for God’s abundant love, our lives and our salvation, we sing, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Alternate Psalm: Psalm 150

Throughout the year, in Sunday liturgy and daily prayer, we turn to the Psalms almost every time we gather to worship. Some Psalms cry out in lamentation; some ask God’s blessing. Psalms beg forgiveness and express hope; a few even call down God’s wrath. The most joyful Psalms sing God’s praise. Psalm 150, the last Psalm, brings the book to a ringing climax as we sing out God’s glory with flutes and harp, strings and praise and plenty of loud, clanging cymbals. We sing out loud as we celebrate the resurrection during Eastertide.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

Despite the commercial success of the popular “Left Behind” stories and other interpretations of Revelation as scary prophecy for modern times, Revelation was never meant for our modern ears. In its time, the late first century, it was addressed to the Christians of seven cities in Asia Minor (now western Turkey) that faced oppression by Roman power. The letter, written in the apocalyptic genre, a sort of First Century sci-fi and fantasy, used symbolic language and colorful metaphors to reassure these early Christians that the Reign of Christ was still to come and would set them free. Christ is “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” it promises, holding up that glowing hope that Christ would eventually dominate even the Emperor of Rome.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

In John’s version of the resurrection, when Mary Magdalene alone saw the risen Christ, she ran back to tell the other disciples. It appears that they did not react immediately with celebration, though, but – as Sunday’s Gospel begins – they had gathered and locked all the doors, apparently fearful that the Temple authorities who had worked with Pilate to condemn Jesus were trying to find them. But then Jesus appears in the locked room with them, shows them his wounds, offers them peace, and breathes the power of the Holy Spirit into them, turning their fear into joy. Thomas, who wasn’t with the apostles that night, was doubtful, insisting on proof before he would believe. But Thomas, too, turns from doubt to belief when he sees Jesus.