Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 10, 2026 (Easter 6A)

Altar dossal (an ornamental cloth or hanging placed behind and above the altar) depicting The Last Supper (1630), Silk and velvet altar dossal, attributed to Edmund Harrison (1590-1667). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 17:22-31

Even after the resurrected Jesus returns to the Creator, God remains in the world. The Holy Spirit is with us. This is the reassuring message of Sunday’s readings: The God who made us all is with us always, watches over us, and hears our prayers. In our first reading we find Paul in Athens, trying to persuade skeptical Greeks that their altar “to an unknown god” actually celebrates our God, who made the world and everything in it, who gave us life and breath, and who remains so near to us that in God we live and move and have our being.

Psalm: Psalm 66:7-18

Why do bad things happen to good people? The Psalmist ponders this eternal question in the portion of Psalm 66 that we read on this Sunday. Sometimes it seems as if God is testing us when we face burdens that seem too heavy to bear, the psalm reminds us. But God keeps watch over all the people of the Earth and ultimately brings us out to a place of refreshment, a spacious place of relief. God hears our prayers and does not reject them; at the end, God’s loving kindness is not withheld.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22

This passage from the first letter of Peter mirrors the theme of hope amid burdens and difficulties that we heard in Psalm 66. It assures us that when we suffer for doing the right thing, we earn blessings, a promise that may have brought some comfort to an early church community facing persecution. Just as Noah and his family endured the flood so that humanity could survive, the author using Peter’s name declares, “ Jesus suffered on the cross, died, and was resurrected so that we too may be brought to God through baptism.”

Gospel: John 14:15-21

Continuing in Jesus’s final discourse to the apostles as told in John’s Gospel, Jesus promises them that, although he will leave soon to return to the Creator, he will not leave them orphaned. God will give them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to remain with them forever. Then, emphasizing the intimate connection among this Trinity of Creator, Son, and Spirit and those who believe, Jesus goes on: “If you love me, keep my commandments … They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for May 3, 2026 (Easter 5A)

The Stoning of St Stephen (c.1435), fresco by Paolo Uccello (1397-1475). Cathedral of Saint Stephen, Prato, Tuscany, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 7:55-60

We are now midway through the 50 days of Eastertide, and our Sunday readings turn from the resurrection of Jesus to our own hope of new life and resurrection through Christ. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of the death of Stephen, the first martyr of the church, at the hands of an angry mob. This reading also introduces Saul, a Pharisee who, we are told in these verses, approved of this violent, brutal killing. Later in Acts, Saul undergoes a startling conversion experience and becomes Paul, who would spread the church across the Mediterranean world.

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

“Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Both Jesus, dying on the cross, and Stephen, dying under stones thrown by his community, uttered this same verse from Psalm 31. Even in the painful moment of death by violence, they confessed their faith. The Psalmist, too, seeking refuge and rescue, trusts in the loving-kindness and protection that comes with placing one’s self in God’s hands. Begging God to hear his call, to be his stronghold, his rock and castle, the Psalmist asks God to listen and to save him.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

The author of the first letter of Peter turns to the Hebrew Bible to find inspiration for a suffering people. Writing for the persecuted church in Asia Minor a few generations after the crucifixion, the author draws from the Psalms and the prophets to frame the message: Do not stumble and fall on a stone as Isaiah’s people had done, but grow into salvation like infants nourished on pure, spiritual milk.

Gospel: John 14:1-14

In this passage from John’s long account of Jesus’s talk with his apostles at the Last Supper, Jesus tells them that he is going to go ahead to prepare a place for them. He tries to reassure them, telling them not to let their hearts be troubled; but they worry all the same, fearful because he is leaving and confused about what he means. Thomas asks how they will know the way, and Jesus responds with these familiar words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is Jesus’s comforting word to his fearful disciples. Jesus himself is all they need; there is no need to be afraid. To know Jesus is to know God, right now and right here as we seek God’s kingdom on earth.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 26, 2026 (Easter 4A)

The Good Shepherd (Fifth century CE), mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Ravenna, Italy. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

The fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally called “Good Shepherd Sunday,” as the readings for the day draw our attention to sheep and shepherds as metaphors for God’s protective love. Our first reading continues the Acts of the Apostles’ narrative of the spirit-filled church after the first Pentecost. It tells us how that infant flock lived in loving, sharing community, selling all their possessions and distributing the proceeds to anyone who had need. Following the example set by Jesus, these early Christians recognized the joy and challenge of taking the good news of the Gospel to the world.

Psalm: Psalm 23

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most beloved psalms for the comfort that it offers in times of trouble and fear. To view it in a new way, try reading it in context with the psalm that comes just before it. In Psalm 22, a seemingly desperate hymn of lament, the Psalmist utters the despairing words that Jesus will later call out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Now we turn the page and find comfort in the 23rd’s assurance that our loving shepherd will walk through the valley of the shadow of death with us, watching over us and protecting us all the days of our lives.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

These verses from this letter written in Peter’s name appear troubling in modern times: The author is speaking directly to enslaved people, demanding that they accept the authority of their masters, even if those masters treated them harshly. It is not easy to understand Bible verses that seem to support enslavement and other modern hot-button issues. Still, verses such as these were once used to justify enslavement as being acceptable to God. Perhaps we can simply take this as general advice to all who suffer, remembering that Jesus, too, suffered and died unfairly, having done no wrong. Like lost sheep, we suffer, but we know joy when we return to Christ, our shepherd and guardian.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

Continuing his conversation with a group of Pharisees who were angry because Jesus restored a blind man’s sight on the Sabbath, Jesus makes a clear distinction between the good shepherd, who cares for the sheep, and thieves who break in to steal the sheep. Jesus declares that he is the gate to the sheepfold, and that he is the gatekeeper too, the protective guardian whose familiar voice reassures the sheep and calls each one by name. The gate opens to allow the protected ones to enter, then closes to bar those who would steal, kill, and destroy the beloved sheep. In the next verse after this reading, Jesus will declare, ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 19, 2026 (Easter 3A)

Supper at Emmaus (1648). Oil painting on panel by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Click image to enlarge)

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,36-41

Appropriately for Eastertide, themes of resurrection continue in our lectionary readings this week. In the first reading, Peter utters harsh words, blaming “the entire house of Israel” for crucifying Jesus, the Lord and Messiah. As with the angry references to the Jews in the Passion Gospels, modern Christians must read this kind of accusation – which recurs throughout the Acts of the Apostles – in its historical and cultural context. At the time of this writing, extreme tension remained between early Christians and Jews, who had separated into angry factions after the destruction of the Temple. Perhaps in this passage we can focus instead on God’s gracious promise that forgiveness through the gift of the Holy Spirit is available to all.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

Psalm 116, a hymn of thanksgiving, expresses the Psalmist’s gratitude for recovery from illness. The first selection chosen for this reading is vivid in its description of the anguish of severe sickness and the fear of death; but then the remaining verses change tone, portraying the transforming joy that comes with recovery. There is a theme of resurrection here, too, as we think of the joy that comes with escaping the darkness of the underworld to win the bounty of salvation.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

These verses, from the first of the two letters written in Peter’s name, offer a glimpse into the efforts of the church around the end of the first century to discern the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We hear the author working out the significance of Jesus’ death as ransom for our sins, a theological question that has continued from the early church through the Middle Ages to modern times. Through Christ, the author points out, we trust in God. Through Christ we love one another. And through Christ we gain life in the enduring word of God.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

What a confusing time the first Easter must have been for those who loved Jesus! This Gospel passage, like last Sunday’s reading about Jesus entering the locked room where the disciples were hiding, shows his followers as uncertain, uneasy, even scared. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” two of them told the stranger who joined them on the road to Emmaus, the past tense hinting that this hope, once alive, now was gone. Nor does it seem that they believed the women who had gone before them to the empty tomb. But the traveler, after lecturing them about the prophets’ teachings about the Messiah, revealed himself as Jesus when he broke bread for them at the dinner table.

Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for April 12, 2026 (Easter 2A)

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, The Rockox Triptych (1613-1615), oil painting on panel by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,22-32

Christ is risen, and we move forward with joy into the 50 days of Eastertide, the liturgical season that continues through Pentecost Sunday. In the readings for the season, we will hear about mysterious appearances of the resurrected Christ to his followers, and dwell on Jesus’s words about God’s promise of eternal life. Sunday’s readings offer insight into the meaning of resurrection in our lives. Our first readings during this season come from the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the early church and how it grew. In this reading, Peter, touched by the Holy Spirit, addresses an amazed crowd with a fluent sermon declaring the resurrected Christ as Messiah, assuring us of our hope for eternal life.

Psalm: Psalm 16

Peter quoted four verses from Psalm 16 in the first reading. Here we have the full Psalm, but you may notice that these words are similar but different. That’s because Peter was quoting the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint, that was standard in his time. This version of Psalm 16, though, is translated from the original Hebrew Bible. It can be fascinating to explore the similarities and differences, but ultimately both versions convey the same promise: God teaches us, God watches over us; God protects us, and God gives us joy and pleasures for evermore.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Our second readings through Eastertide will draw from the First Book of Peter, the first of two letters written in Peter’s name to the early church in Asia Minor. Within this short letter we can discern the evolving theology of resurrection and salvation in the early church late in the first century. Observing that people are suffering “various trials” – perhaps persecution for their faith – the author assures them that even amid trials, God offers the faithful the joy of a lasting inheritance of salvation through Christ’s resurrection and life.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

The apostles knew that Jesus had risen, but this wonderful news was apparently insufficient to spare them fear of the Temple leaders who had worked with the Romans to arrest and execute Jesus. They are hiding in a locked room, yet suddenly Jesus appears in their midst, twice telling them, “Peace be with you.” Jesus bears visible scars but is very much alive. He sends his friends, no longer fearful, out into the world in peace, empowered with the Holy Spirit through Jesus’s breath. Then, a week later, Thomas, who had missed this first meeting, refuses to believe that Jesus had truly risen unless he could touch the wounds himself. Jesus invites Thomas to do so. Then he blesses all who have not seen yet come to believe through faith.