Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 5, 2024 (Easter 6B)

The Last Supper (1464-1467), oil painting on panel by Dieric Bouts (c.1420-1475), Altarpiece, St. Peter’s Church, Leuven, Belgium. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

Sunday’s readings build on the theme that we heard last Sunday: God’s love pours out on all the world, and we are called to love each other as God loves us. Our first reading marks a key turning point in Acts: The joyful reaction of a Gentile crowd to Peter’s teaching reveals to the apostles that the Holy Spirit comes to everyone, not only Jewish Christians but Gentiles too. Everyone. Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer is clear: Baptism is for all. As we heard in last week’s reading about the Ethiopian eunuch, “Here is water. What is to prevent it?”

Psalm: Psalm 98

Filled with triumphant spirit, Psalm 98 rings out a resounding faith in God’s power to win victory for Israel over all the earth. This is an occasion for rejoicing, calling not only for the people but for all the earth – the sea, the rivers and the hills – to lift up their voices and sing. Consistent with the theme that runs through this day’s readings, God’s victory is not for Israel alone. God will judge not only Israel but all the people of the earth with mercy and equity.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Our second reading and Gospel this week continue seamlessly where last Sunday’s readings left off, expanding on similar themes. We are commanded to love one another as Jesus loves us. Now we learn in the First Letter of John that the way to love God – to become a child of God – is by obeying God’s commandments, a direction that follows the Jewish tradition of love for God’s law and teaching. In words that echo the triumphant sentiment of today’s Psalm, we hear that our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings God’s victory into the world.

Gospel: John 15:9-17

Mark’s, Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels all three tell us that Jesus taught – in the spirit of the essential Jewish prayer, the Shema – that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Now in John’s Gospel we hear Jesus expanding on this theme. Just as God has loved Jesus, he tells his apostles during his final discourse, so Jesus loves us. Therefore, he tells them, “Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Through faith, he adds, continuing the metaphor of the vine and the branches from last week’s Gospel, we go out and bear fruit that will last.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 9, 2021

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

Sunday’s Lectionary readings continue building on the theme that we heard last Sunday: God’s love pours out on all the world, and we are called to love each other as God loves us.

The Exhortation to the Apostles (1886-1894), opaque watercolor on graphite over gray wove paper by James Tissot (1836-1902). Brooklyn Museum. (Click image to enlarge.)

The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, marks a key turning point in Luke’s account of the early church: The joyful reaction of a Gentile crowd to Peter’s teaching reveals to the apostles that the Holy Spirit comes to everyone: not only to Jewish Christians but to Gentiles too. Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer is clear: Baptism is for all. As we heard in last week’s reading about the Ethiopian eunuch, “Here is water. What is to prevent it?”

Psalm: Psalm 98

Psalm 98 – perhaps originally a song of praise for God’s support after a battle – abounds with triumphant spirit. Its verses ring out resounding faith in God’s power to win victory for Israel over all the earth. This is an occasion for rejoicing. Not only the people but all earth – the seas, the rivers and the hills – lift up their voices and sing. Consistent with the theme that runs through the readings for the day, it declares that God’s victory is not for Israel alone. God will judge not only Israel but all Earth’s people with mercy and equity.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Both this reading and the Gospel assigned for Sunday continue where last week’s readings left off, and both continue with similar themes. Last week we were told to love one another as Jesus loves us. This week we are told in the First Letter of John that the way to love God – to become a child of God – is by obeying God’s commandments, a direction that follows the Jewish tradition of love for God’s law and teaching. In words that echo the triumphant sentiment of Psalm 98, we hear that our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings God’s victory into the world.

Gospel: John 15:9-17

The Gospels according to Mark, Matthew and Luke all tell us that Jesus taught – in the spirit of the essential Jewish prayer, the Shema – that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and mind. Now in John’s Gospel Jesus shows us how to do that: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Through our faith, the Gospel tells us, we go out and bear fruit, like the branches of the vine that were pruned so they would bear more. Through our faith we love one another as God loves us.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for May 6, 2018

Detail of Jesus giving the Farewell Discourse to his Apostles after the Last Supper (1308-1311); Maestà, tempera on wood altarpiece by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319). Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena. (Click image to enlarge.)

Sunday’s readings build on the theme that we heard last Sunday: God’s love pours out on all the world, and we are called to love each other as God loves us. Our first reading marks a key turning point in Acts: The joyful reaction of a Gentile crowd to Peter’s teaching reveals to the apostles that the Holy Spirit comes to everyone, not only Jewish Christians but Gentiles too. Everyone. Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer is clear: Baptism is for all. As we heard in last week’s reading about the Ethiopian eunuch, “Here is water. What is to prevent it?”

Psalm: Psalm 98

This triumphant hymn of faith in God’s power is consistent with the theme that we hear throughout today’s readings: God’s victory shows divine mercy and faithfulness for Israel, but it is not a victory for Israel alone. God will judge not only Israel but all the people of the earth with mercy and equity. In a resounding symphony of thanksgiving, not only the people but even the sea, the lands, the rivers and hills ring out their joy, singing to the Lord a new song.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Our second reading and Gospel continue seamlessly where last Sunday’s readings left off, expanding on the same theme. We are commanded to love one another as Jesus loves us. Now we learn in the First Letter of John that the way to love God – to become a child of God – is by obeying God’s commandments, a direction that follows the Jewish tradition of love for God’s law and teaching. In words that echo the triumphant sentiment of today’s Psalm, we hear that our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings God’s victory into the world.

Gospel: John 15:9-17

Mark, Matthew and Luke all tell us that Jesus taught – in the spirit of the essential Jewish prayer, the Shema – that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and mind. Then Jesus connects the dots: It follows, then, that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. In John’s Gospel Jesus expands on this theme. Just as God has loved Jesus, so Jesus loves us. Therefore, he commands, “Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Through our faith we go out and bear fruit that will last, like the branches of the vine in last week’s Gospel.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for May 10, 2015

Jesus giving the Farewell Discourse to his eleven remaining disciples, from the Maesta by Duccio, 1308-1311.

Last week in an earlier passage in Acts, we heard of Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch. Now the leaders of the early church recognize that the Holy Spirit comes to everyone, not only Jews but Gentiles as well: Everyone. Peter asks, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The answer is clear: Baptism is for everyone. “Here is water.” What is to prevent it?

Psalm: Psalm 98

Filled with triumphant spirit, this Psalm rings out a resounding faith in God’s power to win victory for Israel over all the earth. This is an occasion for rejoicing, for not only the people but for all the earth – the sea, the rivers and the hills – to lift up their voices and sing. Consistent with the theme that runs through today’s readings, God’s victory is not for Israel alone. God will judge not only Israel but all the people of the earth with mercy and equity.

Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

Both this reading and today’s Gospel pick up where last week’s readings left off, and both continue similar themes. We were told to love one another as Jesus loves us. Now we are told to love God by obeying God’s commandments (a command that carries out the Jewish tradition of love for God’s law and teaching). In words that might remind us of today’s Psalm, we hear that our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings God’s victory into the world.

Gospel: John 15:9-17

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus declared that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Now in John’s Gospel Jesus shows us how to do that: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Through our faith we go out and bear fruit, like the branches of the vine that were not pruned. Through our faith we love one another as God loves us.