Lectionary Readings
(from the Revised Common Lectionary)
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This lectionary covers the next thirty days. For full lists, see the seasons and years below.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Fourth Sunday of Easter—Easter, Year C
Summary
Looking back on the Lord's life and teachings in light of his Resurrection reveals more than could be discerned before he rose from the dead. That "the sheep hear the shepherd's voice" is speaking of the church, who faithfully interpret the words of the Lord, because the Spirit of the Lord is in them. The Jews in the passage, by contrast, are seeking to catch Jesus in a compromising position and use his words against him. The point is that faith is the lens through which we properly hear Jesus' teachings in the Gospels. Even mighty works and miracles cannot convince the one whose heart is set against God (v. 26). How we approach Jesus has everything to do with how we interpret his words and teachings. Faith in his resurrection unlocks the truth. Skeptics will always remain on the outside for however long they keep up the critical attitude, only ever having the experience of challenging and weighing his words and tuning out the call of the Father to his children.
Jesus, wise as a serpent, though innocent as a dove, does not always speak plainly about his status as the Messiah and Son of God to those who work against him. Yet here he does in verse 30. The lesson for Christians in the world is that we, like Jesus, are not bound to always confront the world's impieties when the timing is unpropitious. However, when directly asked what we believe, we are bound to give a plain confession in order to bear witness to the truth before others, even if it leads to our harm or ostracism. God will provide for our bodily safety (v. 39), or else our eternal rest (v. 28).
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Fifth Sunday of Easter—Easter, Year C
Summary
Returning to the mandatum in light of the Resurrection reveals how Jesus perfects merely human religion. Whereas Jesus gives the sage advice of the golden rule in Matthew 7:12, giving the human rule for the treatment of others, in John's gospel the measure of Christian love from the Lord among his disciples is God's divine love. No human code of conduct can create such a love in its followers. Only divine aid by the Holy Spirit can put this kind of love in human beings' hearts. This is the love that brings Jesus to the Cross, referred to here as his "glorification." Note that loving as God loves is issued as a commandment, not an optional side-quest for the Christian. This sort of love is to be the defining, glorifying feature of the Christian community.
The listener, rightly, will identify that this love is not naturally occurring in themselves. The preacher's opportunity here is to exhort the believer to call on the aid of the Holy Spirit. The preacher will need to resist the temptation to take a detour into how Christ's sacrifice justifies us even in our unworthiness. Though true, this passage shows how the Cross is the very model of love, the greatest work of mercy, and if anyone would come after the Lord they must take up that same cross in the spirit of that same love. The expectation of holiness should not be quenched. Rather the Spirit should be invoked to fill the void the congregants will naturally feel, careful to remind that the Lord himself walks with them along the way.
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Sixth Sunday of Easter—Easter, Year C
Summary
The preacher has the option of two passages in John. If the John 14 passage is selected, there is the opportunity to prepare the congregation for the Feast of the Ascension and its observance on the following Sunday. "I go away, and I will come to you." In this passage Jesus promises his presence in two ways. First, by keeping Jesus' commandments Christians prove their love for Jesus and so open themselves to become a dwelling place for God. Second, by the Holy Spirit who is sent from the Father to teach and "bring to remembrance" these words of Christ—this theme will begin preparing the congregation for Pentecost in two weeks. This last point is an especially comforting truth, since it shows how walking the Christian life in faith is not just a matter of following Christ's good example or internalizing his teachings. It is a spiritual affair in which God himself reaches down to aid us by the Spirit.
The preacher may want to remark that this mode of Christ's presence is superior to his presence in the body. The distance even between two familiar friends is closed by the Word in our minds and the Spirit dwelling in our hearts. It is as though in going away, Christ has commingled himself even more closely with us than he did in taking on flesh at the Incarnation. The Ascension is not Jesus' departure but the beginning of an even more intimate presence which is available to every believer through prayer, meditation on the scriptures, and participating in the sacraments.
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Seventh Sunday of Easter—Easter, Year C
Summary
The preacher has two options on the Sunday after the Ascension. The annual reading of John 17 is the conclusion of the high priestly prayer (see commentary in Year B). Electing instead to return to the regularly scheduled Gospel of Year C gives the opportunity to bring before the congregation an important theme in Luke's gospel: That the Holy Spirit establishes the continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
In an age marked by a method of biblical criticism which regards as "historically responsible" bracketing out the possibility of spiritual readings of the Old Testament, it is important to hear how Jesus refers to the entire Old Testament as writings about him (v. 44) and that understanding them in this way is the illumination of God himself (v. 45). For the church, cataloguing the diversity of sources and drawing attention to the joints and seams whereby they were assembled is not an exercise that reveals the true meaning of the scriptures. The key to receiving God's word in the Old Testament is to understand it in the light of Jesus' Resurrection, recognizing the Holy Spirit speaking through it.
Detailing the church's history of interpretation of the Old Testament is probably better left for a special series of teachings (e.g. 1 Peter 3, 1 Corinthians 10, among others). Sufficient for the day will be to emphasize another way that Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension leaves us better off, even than those who walked with Jesus in his earthly life: with the key to unlock all of the riches of Holy Scripture to edify and aid us as we follow Christ to the Father.
Next week, will observe when this same Spirit that spoke of Christ through the Law and the Prophets will descend on his church in power.
