Podcasts about gospel john

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene by Dr. John Bergsma. Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene First Reading: Songs 3: 1-4b or Second Corinthians 5: 14-17  Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9  Gospel: John 20: 1-2, 11-18   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com To register for the St. Paul Center's 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner, please visit stpaulcenter.com/gala Encounter Christ in Scripture and share Him with others. Join us at stpaulcenter.com/memberships

12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.Hoc est praeceptum meum, ut diligatis invicem, sicut dilexi vos. 13 Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.Majorem hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam ponat qui pro amicis suis. 14 You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you.Vos amici mei estis, si feceritis quae ego praecipio vobis. 15 I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you.Jam non dicam vos servos : quia servus nescit quid faciat dominus ejus. Vos autem dixi amicos : quia omnia quaecumque audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis. 16 You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.Non vos me elegistis, sed ego elegi vos, et posui vos ut eatis, et fructum afferatis, et fructus vester maneat : ut quodcumque petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, det vobis.Of the noble family of Lellis, St Camillus, when still a young priest, consecrated his life to the service of the sick, even those striken with the plague. He founded an Order of Hospitollers, which bears his name, and died a victim of his charity A.D. 1614.Music: Christ is made he sure foundation. #561. Adoremus Hymnal.

Guest preacher Malcolm Hamblett joined us with a thought-provoking message based on the stirring and challenging words of Jesus to the Pharisee Nicodemus, as recorded in John's Gospel (John 3:1-8).“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.["] – John 3:2b-6 (ESV)

Welcome to Day 2899 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2899 – “The Ultimate Close Encounter”  based on Luke 9:37-50 Putnam Church Message – 06/07/2026 The Good News According to Luke: “Snapshots From An Amazing Album.”   Last week's message was “The Ultimate Close Encounter,” in which we learned that the message still speaks:  This is God's Son. This is the Chosen One. Listen to Him. His will. His way. All the way. Today, we continue with our twenty-seventh message from Luke's narrative of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Today's message is: “Snapshots From An Amazing Album.” Our core passage today is Luke 9:37-50, on page 1610 of your pew Bibles. Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy 37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” 41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.       Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”/ 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. 46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you, who is the greatest.” 49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.” Opening Prayer Father, we come before You today with grateful hearts. Thank You for giving us the Gospel accounts, not as random stories, but as carefully chosen snapshots of Jesus — His power, His compassion, His mission, and His way of forming disciples. Lord Jesus, as we open Luke's Gospel today, help us see You clearly. Show us where we are trusting in ourselves instead of depending on You. Show us where we are avoiding hard truth because we do not want to face it. Show us where we are seeking greatness in the wrong ways. Show us where we have become too narrow, competitive, or protective of our own little group instead of rejoicing in Your Kingdom work. Holy Spirit, soften our hearts. Open our eyes. Teach us to lead, serve, and follow in the way of Jesus. In His name, amen. Introduction: A Gospel Photo Album The greatest story ever told is about the greatest Person who ever lived. And yet, we do not have an exhaustive account of Jesus' earthly life. John tells us near the end of his Gospel (John 21:25) that Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. So, what do we have? / We have selected scenes. / Chosen moments. / Spirit-inspired portraits. / We might say the Gospels are like four photo albums. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each show us Jesus truthfully, but each one arranges the pictures a little differently. Sometimes they include the same scene, but from a slightly different angle. Sometimes one Gospel writer zooms in on a detail that another leaves in the background. Sometimes one chooses a picture that the others do not include. But every snapshot has a purpose. Luke is not simply saying, “Here are a few things that happened.” He is saying, “Look carefully. These moments reveal who Jesus is, what His Kingdom is like, and what it means to follow Him.” In last week's message, “The Ultimate Close Encounter,” we followed Peter, James, and John up the mountain. There, they saw Jesus transfigured in glory. Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. The cloud of God's presence surrounded them. The Father spoke: “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” That was the mountaintop. But now, in Luke 9:37–50, Jesus and the three disciples come down from the mountain into the valley of human need, failure, confusion, pride, and competition. That sounds a lot like real life, doesn't it? We have moments of worship, clarity, beauty, and spiritual encouragement. Then we come down the mountain and face the same broken world. A family is in crisis. A child is suffering. Disciples are arguing. People misunderstand Jesus. Pride rises. Jealousy appears. Luke gives us four snapshots in this passage: Jesus frees a boy after the disciples fail. Jesus announces His coming betrayal and suffering. Jesus redefines greatness through a child. Jesus corrects the disciples' narrow view of Kingdom leadership. Together, these snapshots teach us what kingdom leadership looks like. Main Point 1: Snapshot One — Our Failure Reveals Our Need for Dependence The first scene begins the day after the transfiguration. Jesus, Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain and find a large crowd waiting. Among them is a desperate father. He cries out to Jesus, begging Him to look at his only son. That phrase matters: “my only son.” We have heard language like this before in Luke. Jairus had only one daughter. The widow of Nain had only one son. Luke wants us to feel the ache of a parent whose whole heart is wrapped up in one child's suffering. This boy is tormented. He cries out. He convulses. He foams at the mouth. He is being crushed and harmed. Matthew and Mark give additional details. Mark tells us the spirit had often thrown the boy into fire and water to destroy him. The father had brought the boy to the disciples, but they could not help. Now pause there. / These disciples had recently gone out preaching, healing, and casting out demons in Jesus' name. They had experienced the authority of Jesus flowing through them. But here they failed. At the bottom of the mountain, we see a painful contrast. / On the mountain: glory. / In the valley: agony. / On the mountain: the Father's voice. / In the valley: a father's cry. / On the mountain: Jesus shines with divine majesty. / In the valley: the disciples are powerless without dependence. Jesus responds with strong words about an unbelieving and corrupt generation. His language echoes the Old Testament, especially Israel's wilderness years, when God's people had seen His power but still wandered in unbelief. But then notice what Jesus does. / Even in His frustration, He does not turn away the father. He says, “Bring your son here.” As the boy comes, the demon throws him to the ground. Jesus rebukes the evil spirit, heals the boy, and gives him back to his father. / That little phrase is beautiful: Then He gave him back to his father. Jesus does not merely display power. He restores relationship. He gives a son back into his father's arms. Object Lesson: The Unplugged Lamp Hold up an unplugged lamp. You flip the switch, but nothing happens. The lamp may be beautiful. It may be expensive. It may be placed in the right room. It may have a good bulb. But if it is not connected to the power source, it cannot shine. That is the disciples in this scene. / They had been given...

As we journey through many familiar passages in the Bible, one verse stands alone as the most familiar passage: John 3:16. But just as it is the most familiar passage, it is also the most misunderstood. It is here in a single verse that we find the sum and substance of the gospel.

Feast of St. Thomas, apostle Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/3/26 Gospel: John 20:24-29

30 Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.
Cum ergo accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit : Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum. 31  Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve,) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Judaei ergo ( quoniam parasceve erat) ut non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbato ( erat enim magnus dies ille sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur. 32  The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him.
Venerunt ergo milites : et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius, qui crucifixus est cum eo.33 But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura, 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water.sed unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. 35 And he that saw it, hath given testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe.Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit : et verum est testimonium ejus. Et ille scit quia vera dicit : ut et vos credatis.

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 82, 98, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-5, Jeff Boe, First Canticle: 16, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 3:22-30, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Antonio Allegretti, used by permission.

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 82, 98, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-5, Jeff Boe, First Canticle: 16, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 3:22-30, Mtr. Lisa Meirow

31 Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve,) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.Judaei ergo ( quoniam parasceve erat) ut non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbato ( erat enim magnus dies ille sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur. 32 The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him.Venerunt ergo milites : et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius, qui crucifixus est cum eo. 33 But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura, 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water.sed unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. 35 And he that saw it, hath given testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe.Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit : et verum est testimonium ejus. Et ille scit quia vera dicit : ut et vos credatis. 36 For these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him.Facta sunt enim haec ut Scriptura impleretur : Os non comminuetis ex eo. 37 And again another scripture saith: They shall look on him whom they pierced.Et iterum alia Scriptura dicit : Videbunt in quem transfixerunt.The Sacred Heart of our Lord is opened on the Cross by the soldier's lance to manifest to us His love.

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/7/26 Gospel: John 6:51-58

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (John 6:51-58) and breaks open the word on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

Father Thomas Naval proclaims the Gospel (John 6:51-58) on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

Friends of the Rosary,Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Boniface (c. 673-680-754), Bishop and Martyr, a Benedictine monk in the Middle Ages who was chosen by divine Providence to become Germany's great apostle and patron. Catholic Germany still venerates him as its father in the faith. The famous abbey of Fulda, where his body lies, has remained the national shrine of Catholic Germany. When he was about to administer confirmation to a group of neophytes at Dockum, a band of barbarous pagans overpowered and put him to death.In today's Gospel (John 10:11-16), we see Christ the Lord as the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep – all of us – without hesitation."I am the good shepherd,and I know mine and mine know me,just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;and I will lay down my life for the sheep.I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,and there will be one flock, one shepherd."Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• June 5, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.Caro enim mea vere est cibus : et sanguis meus, vere est potus; 57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo. 58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.Sicut misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo propter Patrem : et qui manducat me, et ipse vivet propter me. 59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.Hic est panis qui de caelo descendit. Non sicut manducaverunt patres vestri manna, et mortui sunt. Qui manducat hunc panem, vivet in aeternum.The Eucharist is instituted in the form of food, so that we may receive in Holy Communion the Victim of the Cross.

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (John 3:16-18) and breaks open the word on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

Officiant: Fr. Wiley Ammons, Psalm(s): Psalm 72, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Ellen Singer, First Canticle: 15, Second Canticle: 17, Gospel: John 12:27-36, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Laura Ammons, used by permission.

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 146, 147, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Job 38:1-11, 42:1-5, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 16, New Testament: Revelation 19:4-16, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 1:29-34, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Antonio Allegretti, used by permission.

Officiant: Fr. Wiley Ammons, Psalm(s): Psalm 111, 112, 113, Laura Ammons, Old Testament: Job 38:1-11, 42:1-5, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 15, New Testament: Revelation 19:4-16, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Second Canticle: 17, Gospel: John 1:29-34, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Laura Ammons, used by permission.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/31/26 Gospel: John 3:16-18

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 146, 147, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Job 38:1-11, 42:1-5, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 16, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 1:29-34, Mtr. Lisa Meirow

Gospel: John 20:19-23On the evening of that first day of the week,when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood in their midstand said to them, "Peace be with you."When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.As the Father has sent me, so I send you."And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the Holy Spirit.Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,and whose sins you retain are retained."

Worship for Pentecost Sunday May 24, 2026, from Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle, our 10:00 service— Pastor Dan Peterson; Cantor Kyle Haugen Prelude— Organ settings of Luther's Pentecost hymn, KOMM HEILIGER GEIST (ELW 395, “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord”) by Baroque composers—Matthias Weckmann (1616–1674)  •  Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707) • Processional Hymn—O Holy Spirit, Enter In (ELW 786) • First Reading— Acts 2:1-21 • Psalm 104:24-34, 35b • Second Reading— 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13  • Gospel—John 20:19-23  • Sermon—Pastor Dan Peterson—"The Job of the Spirit" • Hymn of the Day—Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart (ELW 800) • Offertory—Psalm 68:28b–29 • Distribution Hymn—Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ (ELW 402) • Sending Hymn —God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind ELW 400) • Postlude— from an organ partita on KOMM, HEILIGER GEIST, Matthias Weckmann⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link here to view the bulletin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Enjoying our worship recordings? Consider giving. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit this link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

44 No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day.nemo potest venire ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum; et ego resuscitabo eum in novissimo die. 45 It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me.Est scriptum in prophetis : Et erunt omnes docibiles Dei. Omnis qui audivit a Patre, et didicit, venit ad me. 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father.Non quia Patrem vidit quisquam, nisi is, qui est a Deo, hic vidit Patrem. 47 Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life.Amen, amen dico vobis : qui credit in me, habet vitam aeternam. 48 I am the bread of life.Ego sum panis vitae. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead.Patres vestri manducaverunt manna in deserto, et mortui sunt. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.Hic est panis de caelo descendens : ut si quis ex ipso manducaverit, non moriatur. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven.Ego sum panis vivus, qui de caelo descendi. 52 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum : et panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita.[44] "Draw him": Not by compulsion, nor by laying the free will under any necessity, but by the strong and sweet motions of his heavenly grace.

1 Amen, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber.Amen, amen dico vobis : qui non intrat per ostium in ovile ovium, sed ascendit aliunde, ille fur est et latro. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.Qui autem intrat per ostium, pastor est ovium. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.Huic ostiarius aperit, et oves vocem ejus audiunt, et proprias ovas vocat nominatim, et educit eas. 4 And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.Et cum proprias oves emiserit, ante eas vadit : et oves illum sequuntur, quia sciunt vocem ejus. 5 But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.Alienum autem non sequuntur, sed fugiunt ab eo : quia non noverunt vocem alienorum. 6 This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke to them.Hoc proverbium dixit eis Jesus : illi autem non cognoverunt quid loqueretur eis. 7 Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.Dixit ergo eis iterum Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis, quia ego sum ostium ovium. 8 All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not.Omnes quotquot venerunt, fures sunt, et latrones, et non audierunt eos oves. 9 I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.Ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur : et ingredietur, et egredietur, et pascua inveniet. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.Fur non venit nisi ut furetur, et mactet, et perdat. Ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant.Jesus is the Divine Shepard of the faithful sheep (the Church): the faithful sheep hearken to the teaching of His Word given by the Holy Ghost who assists the Ministers of the Church (the Pope and Bishops).

Friends of the Rosary,Today, May 25, is Memorial Day in the U.S., the day after Pentecost. Pentecost, we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.In today's Gospel (John 19:25-34), we read,"Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his ­mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home."Christ the Lord, in entrusting his Mother Mary to the Beloved Disciple from the cross, established a relationship between his holy Mother and all who are united to him, that is, the Church.In 2018, Pope Francis decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman Calendar."This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God," stated the decree.By issuing the Decree on the celebration of the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, Pope Francis wished to promote this devotion in order to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety."Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠May 25, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church; instituted by Pope Francis in 2018 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/25/26 Gospel: John 19:25-34

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church by Dr. Scott Hahn. Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church First Reading: Genesis 3: 9-15, 20 or Acts 1: 12-14 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 87: 1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7 Gospel: John 19: 25-34   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com To encounter Christ in Scripture and share Him with others. Join us at www.stpaulcenter.com/memberships  

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (John 20:19-23) and Father Thomas Naval breaks open the word on Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church. Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

16 For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret : ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.Non enim misit Deus Filium suum in mundum, ut judicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum. 18 He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.Qui credit in eum, non judicatur; qui autem non credit, jam judicatus est : quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei. 19 And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil.Hoc est autem judicium : quia lux venit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines magis tenebras quam lucem : erant enim eorum mala opera. 20 For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.Omnis enim qui male agit, odit lucem, et non venit ad lucem, ut non arguantur opera ejus : 21 But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.qui autem facit veritatem, venit ad lucem, ut manifestentur opera ejus, quia in Deo sunt facta.[18] "Is not judged": He that believeth, viz., by a faith working through charity, is not judged, that is, is not condemned; but the obstinate unbeliever is judged, that is, condemned already, by retrenching himself from the society of Christ and his church.[19] "The judgment": That is, the cause of his comdemnation.[21] "He that doth truth": that is, he that acteth according to truth, which here signifies the Law of God. Thy law is truth. Psa. 118. 142.

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 118, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Deuteronomy 16:9-12, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 16, New Testament: Acts 4:18-21, 23-33, Andrew Armond, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 4:19-26, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Antonio Allegretti, used by permission.

Officiant: Fr. Wiley Ammons, Psalm(s): Psalm 145, Laura Ammons, Old Testament: Deuteronomy 16:9-12, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 15, New Testament: Acts 4:18-21, 23-33, Andrew Armond, Second Canticle: 17, Gospel: John 4:19-26, Mtr. Lisa Meirow. Logo image by Laura Ammons, used by permission.

Solemnity of Pentecost - The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/24/26 Gospel: John 20:19-23

Officiant: Mtr. Lisa Meirow, Psalm(s): Psalm 118, Fr. Wiley Ammons, Old Testament: Deuteronomy 16:9-12, Fr. Wiley Ammons, First Canticle: 16, Second Canticle: 21, Gospel: John 4:19-26, Mtr. Lisa Meirow

23 Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei : Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus; 24 He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words. And the word which you have heard, is not mine; but the Father's who sent me.qui non diligit me, sermones meos non servat. Et sermonem, quem audistis, non est meus : sed ejus qui misit me, Patris. 25 These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you.Haec locutus sum vobis apud vos manens. 26 But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.Paraclitus autem Spiritus Sanctus, quem mittet Pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia quaecumque dixero vobis. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis : non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet. 28 You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.Audistis quia ego dixi vobis : Vado, et venio ad vos. Si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad Patrem : quia Pater major me est. 29 And now I have told you before it comes to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.Et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat : ut cum factum fuerit, credatis. 30 I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing.Jam non multa loquar vobiscum : venit enim princeps mundi hujus, et in me non habet quidquam. 31 But that the world may know, that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us go hence.Sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit mihi Pater, sic facio. Surgite, eamus hinc.[26] "Teach you all things": Here the Holy Ghost is promised to the apostles and their successors, particularly, in order to teach them all truth, and to preserve them from error.[28] "For the Father is greater than I": It is evident, that Christ our Lord speaks here of himself as he is made man: for as God he is equal to the Father. (See Phil. 2.) Any difficulty of understanding the meaning of these words will vanish, when the relative circumstances of the text here are considered: for Christ being at this time shortly to suffer death, signified to his apostles his human nature by these very words: for as God he could not die. And therefore as he was both God and man, it must follow that according to his humanity he was to die, which the apostles were soon to see and believe, as he expresses, ver. 29. And now I have told you before it come to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.

Day of Pentecost First Lesson: Numbers 11:24-30 24So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. 25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. 26Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." 28And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!" 29But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!" 30And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Psalm: Psalm 104:25-35,37 25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! *        in wisdom you have made them all;        the earth is full of your creatures. 26 Yonder is the great and wide sea    with its living things too many to number, *        creatures both small and great. 27 There move the ships,    and there is that Leviathan, *        which you have made for the sport of it. 28 All of them look to you *        to give them their food in due season. 29 You give it to them; they gather it; *        you open your hand, and they are filled with good things. 30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; *        you take away their breath,        and they die and return to their dust. 31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *        and so you renew the face of the earth. 32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *        may the Lord rejoice in all his works. 33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; *        he touches the mountains and they smoke. 34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *        I will praise my God while I have my being. 35 May these words of mine please him; *        I will rejoice in the Lord. 37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. *        Hallelujah! Second Lesson: Acts 2:1-21 1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.7Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." 14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Gospel: John 7:37-39 37On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" 39Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Crispin of Viterbo, 1668-1750; he studied at the Jesuit college and became a shoemaker; at 25, he entered the Capuchins, and served as a gardener and cook; during an epidemic, Crispin effected many miraculous cures; he was also venerated for his prophecies and spiritual wisdom Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/23/26 Gospel: John 21:20-25

 15 If you love me, keep my commandments.Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate : 16 And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever.et ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paraclitum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, 17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you.Spiritum veritatis, quem mundus non potest accipere, quia non videt eum, nec scit eum : vos autem cognoscetis eum, quia apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit. 18 I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.Non relinquam vos orphanos : veniam ad vos. 19 Yet a little while: and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live.Adhuc modicum, et mundus me jam non videt. Vos autem videtis me : quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. 20 In that day you shall know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.In illo die vos cognoscetis quia ego sum in Patre meo, et vos in me, et ego in vobis. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.Qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea : ille est qui diligit me. Qui autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo : et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum.[16] "Paraclete": That is, a comforter: or also an advocate; inasmuch as by inspiring prayer, he prays, as it were, in us, and pleads for us.[16] "For ever": Hence it is evident that this Spirit of Truth was not only promised to the persons of the apostles, but also to their successors through all generations.

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, 1377-1457; after the death of her husband and two sons, she sought to become an Augustinian nun; after six years of petitioning, she was accepted in 1413; she was greatly devoted to the passion of Christ and to serving the sick nuns in her community; she is invoked as a patron of difficult cases, especially those involving marriage Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for5/22/26 Gospel: John 21:15-19

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, 1869-1927, and companions; as a parish priest in Jalisco, Mexico, he opened schools, trade shops, and helped organize the town's water supply; in 1917 the Mexican constitution was edited to include anti-clerical language; the uprising resulted in the Cristero war; Christopher remained faithful, and he, along with 21 other priests and three laymen, was killed in 1927 for continuing to minister in the rural communities Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/21/26 Gospel: John 17:20-26

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, 1380-1444; the greatest preacher of his time; at age 20, when the plague hit, he volunteered to run the hospital in Siena; at 22, he entered the Franciscan order, and was ordained two years later; he lived in solitude and prayer for almost a dozen years, but was ultimately called to preach; he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law; he returned to preaching the last two years of his life, and died while traveling Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/20/26 Gospel: John 17:11b-19

Friends of the Rosary,In today's Gospel (John 17:1–11a), Christ the Lord raised his eyes to heaven and said,"Father, the hour has come.Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,just as you gave him authority over all people,so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him."In this prayer to the Father, the Lord summed up his work as he was about to return to the eternal glory. Jesus is in his very person the meeting of heaven and earth. Divinity and humanity came together in him by carrying God's light into the darkest places of the human condition and transforming it. The proof that heaven is able to transform earth is the resurrection and the ascension."By calling a scattered Israel to unity, inviting the poor to table fellowship, healing the sick in body and heart, and embodying the path of forgiveness and love, Jesus was bringing God's will and purpose to earth," writes Bishop Barron.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠May 19, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Sermon delivered on the Sunday Within the Octave of the Ascension, 2026, at Queen of All Saints Mission, in Richmond, Texas, by Rev. Tobias Bayer. pistle: 1 Peter 4, 7-11. Gospel: John 15, 26-27; 16, 1-4. 

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Maria Bernarda Butler, 1848-1924; Swiss saint who founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Christians and was a missionary in Ecuador; eventually, her congregation had houses in Colombia, Austria, and Brazil Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/19/26 Gospel: John 17:1-11a

Worship for May 17, 2026, from Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle, our 10:30 service— Pastor Dan Peterson; Guest Preacher Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee; Guest Organist Martha Freitag Prelude— “Premiere Livre d'Orgue,” Pierre du Mage; Plein Jeu; Tierce en Taille  • Introit—Psalm 27:7a, 8, 9a, 1a • Gathering Hymn—God Is Here (ELW 526) • First Reading— Acts 1:6-14 • Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 • Second Reading— 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11  • Gospel—John 17:1-11  • Sermon—Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee—"What Is Eternal Life?" • Hymn of the Day—Blest Be the Tie That Binds (ELW 656) • Offertory—Psalm 47:5 • Distribution Hymn—Let Us Break Bread Together (ELW 471) • Sending Hymn —Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen (ELW 548) • Postlude— Now Let the Vault of Heaven Resound (LASST UNS ERFREUEN); Paul Manz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link here to view the bulletin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Enjoying our worship recordings? Consider giving. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit this link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This guide covers the readings appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary for the Day of Pentecost, Year A, falling on May 24, 2026. Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Easter season — the Sunday on which the church remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit. The lectionary offers several choices at three of the four reading positions this day, which can be confusing. The note below explains the options, and this guide covers all of them.A note on the options (just so you'll know): The lectionary for Pentecost offers these choices. (1) First Reading: Acts 2:1–21 or Numbers 11:24–30. (2) Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:3b–13 or Acts 2:1–21 (Acts moves to the epistle slot when Numbers is used as the first reading, so Acts is read either way). (3) Gospel: John 20:19–23 or John 7:37–39. The Psalm (104:24–34, 35b) has no alternative. Most congregations will use Acts 2 as the first reading; this guide treats Acts 2 as primary and gives full coverage to all the alternatives.The ReadingsActs 2:1–21First Reading (Primary Option) — The Day of PentecostSummaryOn the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus are gathered together when the Spirit arrives with the sound of rushing wind and what looks like fire resting on each of them. They begin speaking in languages other than their own. A crowd gathers — devout Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for the festival from many different countries — and to their astonishment each person hears the disciples speaking in their own native language. Some are amazed; others mock the disciples as drunk. Peter stands up and addresses them, explaining that what they are seeing is the fulfillment of the prophet Joel's promise: in the last days God will pour out the Spirit on every kind of person, crossing the usual lines of age, gender, and social status, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.Pentecost by Kseniya LaptevaKey Ideas for Preaching1. The miracle at Pentecost is, very specifically, a miracle of communication across difference. The disciples do not all speak one universal language that everyone somehow understands. They speak many languages — the actual languages of the people standing in the crowd. The Spirit does not erase cultural and linguistic differences; it crosses them. What might it look like for your congregation to take this seriously? Real welcome is not everyone becoming the same. It is everyone being met in their own voice.2. Peter's quotation from the prophet Joel insists that the Spirit is poured out on everyone: sons and daughters, young and old, those at the top of the social order and those at the bottom. Every line that might limit who has access to God is named and crossed. Which of those lines does your congregation still tend to observe, even without meaning to? Where might the Spirit be inviting you to cross one?3. The crowd's first reaction is mockery. When the Spirit moves, it sometimes produces confusion and ridicule before it produces understanding. That is worth naming honestly for a congregation that might expect a movement of God to look tidy. What if your people's discomfort with something new is not a sign that God is absent, but a sign that something is actually happening?4. The text begins by saying the disciples were all together in one place. That gathering is named as the setting in which the Spirit arrives. The Spirit is not poured out on scattered individuals here — it comes upon a gathered community. What does this say about why it still matters to show up, to be present together, in a culture that often treats faith as a private matter?Significant Cautions• Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the church. That phrase can give the impression that God was not at work among people before this moment, or that the Jewish community from which the church grew has somehow been left behind. Neither is true. Peter grounds the whole event in Jewish prophecy. The church does not replace something old; it grows out of it.• The mockers in the crowd are easy to dismiss as villains or to use as a foil for the faithful. But they are not really villains — they are genuinely confused by something they have never seen before. Be careful about setting up a sharp us-versus-them dynamic between the believers and the skeptics.• The promise that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved is a quotation Peter draws from Joel and applies to this specific moment. Be careful about lifting it out of the story and turning it into a simple formula that ignores the communal witness and the changed lives that surround it in the rest of Acts.Numbers 11:24–30First Reading (Alternative Option) — The Spirit Shared with the EldersSummaryMoses, worn down by the burden of leading Israel through the wilderness, has cried out to God for help. God tells him to gather seventy elders at the tent of meeting and shares some of the spirit resting on Moses with them, and they begin to prophesy — though only this one time. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed back in the camp rather than coming to the tent, and the spirit comes upon them there too. Joshua, Moses's assistant, is disturbed and asks Moses to stop them. Moses refuses, saying he wishes all of God's people were prophets and that God would put the Spirit on every one of them.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Moses's wish — that all the Lord's people would be prophets — is exactly what Pentecost finally delivers. If you are preaching both this text and Acts 2, you can draw that line clearly. What Moses longed for, the Spirit at Pentecost gives. The Spirit is no longer reserved for a few special leaders. What might change in your congregation if people actually believed that the Spirit had been given to all of them, not just to the clergy?2. Eldad and Medad receive the Spirit out in the camp, away from the official gathering, without having done the expected thing of showing up at the tent. The Spirit moves where it wants. Joshua wants to stop them; Moses refuses. Where in your congregation, or your community, is the Spirit clearly at work in places or people you would not have predicted? Are you paying attention, or are you trying to call them back to the tent?3. Moses's response to Joshua shows a kind of leadership that is not threatened by other people receiving what he has. He does not protect his role; he gladly shares it. Many leaders in church and elsewhere quietly fear that empowering other people will diminish them. What would it look like to lead the way Moses leads here?Significant Cautions• The seventy elders prophesy this one time and never again. It is a moment, not an ongoing gift. Be careful about treating Moses's story as a straight preview of Pentecost in a way that flattens out the genuine newness of what happens in Acts. The connection is real and worth drawing; the two events are not identical.• Joshua is not condemned for wanting to stop Eldad and Medad — he is acting out of loyalty to Moses. Be gentle in using him as a negative example. The instinct to protect structures and proper channels is not always wrong. It is just sometimes misapplied.Psalm 104:24–34, 35bThe Psalm — The Spirit That Renews the Face of the EarthSummaryThis part of the great creation psalm marvels at how varied and abundant God's creation is. Every living thing — from the countless creatures of the vast sea to all the rest — looks to God for food and receives what it needs in its time. When God withdraws, creatures are troubled; when God takes back their breath, they die and return to dust. But when God sends out the divine Spirit — the same word that means breath or wind — they are created again, and the face of the earth is made new. The psalm closes with a vow to sing to God for as long as the singer has life, and a prayer that God will be pleased with the song.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The word for Spirit in this psalm is the same word for breath and wind (ruach )— the same creative power that hovered over the waters at the beginning of Genesis. On Pentecost, this image reaches back across the whole Bible and grounds the coming of the Spirit in something much older than the upper room in Jerusalem. The breath of God has been animating creation from the beginning. (Genesis 1:2) What does it do for your congregation to hear that the Spirit who came at Pentecost is the same Spirit who breathed life into the first creatures?2. The line about God sending out the Spirit so that creatures are created and the face of the earth is renewed is one of the most hopeful sentences in the whole Bible. Renewal is what the Spirit does. How might this widen the frame of your Pentecost sermon beyond the church alone? The Spirit who renewed the earth is the same Spirit poured out on the disciples.3. The mood of the psalm is wonder — delight at what God has made. Could Pentecost be an occasion not just to explain the Spirit but to invite your congregation into that same posture: paying attention, giving thanks, being astonished at what God is doing?Significant Cautions• The psalm describes creatures dying when God withdraws breath. It is part of the rhythm of creation in the psalm, but it can land hard in a congregation where someone is grieving. Be careful not to use this image casually in a way that suggests God has withdrawn from a person's loved one.• The poetry of the psalm is expansive and imaginative. Resist the urge to flatten it into a proof text for a particular view of how creation happened or how it works scientifically. The purpose of the psalm is praise, not explanation.1 Corinthians 12:3b–13The Epistle (Primary Option) — Many Gifts, One SpiritSummaryPaul is writing to a church in Corinth that has been arguing about spiritual gifts — specifically, about who has the more impressive ones. He begins with a basic test of authenticity: only the Holy Spirit enables someone to say Jesus is Lord. Then he describes the wide variety of gifts in the church — wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous works, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation — insisting that all of them come from one and the same Spirit, who distributes them as the Spirit chooses, and all are given for the good of the whole community. Paul closes with the image of the body: just as a body is one but has many parts, so it is with Christ. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — Jews and Greeks, enslaved and free — and we all share in the one Spirit.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The gifts Paul lists are not awards for spiritual achievement. They are given by the Spirit, however the Spirit chooses, and they are given for the benefit of the whole community rather than the prestige of the recipient. This cuts both ways. It speaks to the person who quietly believes their gift makes them important. It also speaks to the person who quietly believes they have no gift at all. Neither of those positions matches the text. What might happen if your congregation actually believed that every person in the room had been given something for the good of everyone else?2. The body image at the end of the passage looks simple but carries real weight. Every part of the body is needed. No part can opt out, and no part can claim to be more important than another. What does the body of your congregation actually look like? Which members get treated as more important? Which members feel like they barely belong? What would change if everyone took Paul at his word here?3. Paul is not writing a peaceful, theoretical description of an ideal community. He is writing pastoral correction to a real church that is fighting about exactly this issue. That makes the passage more useful, not less. Where is your congregation tempted to rank one another — by gift, by giving, by visibility, by status — and what would Paul have to say about it?4. The last line of the passage says that the unity Paul is describing is already a reality. It happened in baptism. The congregation is not being asked to build unity from scratch; it is being asked to live into something that has already been given. How does it change the way you preach about unity when you stop treating it as a goal and start treating it as a gift to be received?Significant Cautions• Lists of spiritual gifts have sometimes been used to rank Christians, or to claim that one particular gift — often speaking in tongues — is the real sign that the Spirit is present. Paul's whole argument here runs against that use. The Spirit gives whatever the Spirit chooses to give. No person and no group gets to decide which gifts count the most.• Paul mentions the categories of “enslaved or free” alongside Jews and Greeks. He does not, in this letter, challenge slavery as an institution. Be honest about that. The image of being one body in Christ did not, on its own, end the social and economic injustices of the ancient world. Speaking of unity in Christ should not be used to suggest that hard questions of justice take care of themselves.• The unity Paul describes is not uniformity. The whole point of the body image is that the body has many different parts that do different things. Be careful not to use the language of one body to pressure a diverse congregation into one cultural or stylistic expression of worship.John 20:19–23The Gospel (Primary Option) — Peace and the Breath of the SpiritSummaryOn the evening of the first Easter Sunday, the disciples are huddled together behind locked doors because they are afraid. Jesus comes and stands among them and says, peace be with you. He shows them the wounds in his hands and his side, and they are overjoyed. He says it a second time: peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Then he breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. If they forgive anyone's sins, those sins are forgiven; if they hold them against someone, the sins remain.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the Spirit. The image deliberately echoes the moment in Genesis when God breathed life into the first human being. This is presented as a kind of new creation. How might it shift the meaning of Pentecost for your congregation to see it as part of God's long pattern of creating and renewing life, rather than as an isolated, one-time event?2. In John's telling, the Spirit is given on Easter evening — not fifty days later. That is a different account than the one in Acts 2. Rather than smoothing over the difference, what would it look like to be honest with your congregation that the two accounts are doing different theological work? John ties the Spirit directly to the resurrection. Acts ties it to the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Both are saying something true about who the Spirit is.3. The commission and the gift come together. As the Father has sent me, Jesus says, so I am sending you — and then he gives them the Spirit. The Spirit is not given for a private spiritual experience. It is given for a sending. What does it mean for your congregation to receive a gift that, from its very first moment, is pointed outward?4. Jesus places in the hands of this community the responsibility of forgiving sins, of releasing one another from what binds. This has caused real argument in the church about authority. But at the very least, what would it look like for your congregation to take seriously the practice of concrete, embodied forgiveness — not as an abstract idea but as something this community is actually called to do?Significant Cautions• The difference between John's account and Acts is real. John puts the Spirit on Easter evening, and Acts puts it fifty days later at Pentecost. Resist the temptation to harmonize them or explain the difference away. Sermons that name the difference honestly tend to land better than sermons that pretend it is not there.• Jesus says that if the disciples retain sins, those sins are retained. Throughout history, this line has been used to justify exclusion, punishment, and harsh church discipline. Be clear that the main direction of what Jesus says here is toward forgiveness — the releasing of what binds people — not toward the exercise of power over those who are kept out.• The locked doors and the fear of the disciples can be used to make the post-Easter community look like a failure. But these are still the people Jesus comes to and the people he sends. Their fear is the starting point of the story, not the verdict on them. Take care not to shame your congregation's own fear when you preach this scene.John 7:37–39The Gospel (Alternative Option) — Rivers of Living WaterSummaryOn the last and most important day of the Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus stands up in the temple courts and cries out, inviting anyone who is thirsty to come to him and drink. Whoever believes in him, he says, will have rivers of living water flowing from within. John then adds a note explaining that Jesus was speaking about the Spirit, who would be given to believers later — after Jesus had been glorified.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The image of rivers of living water flowing from inside a person is one of the most vivid pictures of the Spirit in any of the Gospels. It is not a trickle. It is not a reservoir you fill up once. It is an ongoing, outward flow. The Spirit is not given to be stored. What would it look like for your congregation to think of the Spirit not as something they have, but as something that flows through them on its way to someone else?2. Jesus makes this announcement on the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles, when water was being poured out as a ritual prayer for rain. The crowd would have felt the weight of the image right away. Could your congregation feel what it means to be genuinely thirsty — not mildly curious about God, but actually in need?3. John explains in a brief note that the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. The coming of the Spirit is tied directly to the cross and the resurrection. How does it deepen a Pentecost sermon to remind the congregation that the Spirit they celebrate today comes as the fruit of what happened at Easter?Significant Cautions• The phrase about living water flowing from within can sound as though the Spirit is essentially a private inner experience of abundance. But the setting here is a public festival, and Jesus is shouting in the middle of a crowd. The water flows outward, not just inward. Be careful with a reading that turns this into a purely personal experience.• Jesus says the scripture has said something about rivers of living water, but no single passage in the Hebrew Bible is a clear match. Different scholars suggest different texts. Avoid confidently pointing to one specific passage as the source without acknowledging that no one is sure.Thematic ConnectionsEvery text appointed for Pentecost points toward the same central claim: the Spirit of God is now given freely, widely, and without the restrictions that once limited who could receive it. * In Acts, the Spirit crosses every linguistic and cultural line in Jerusalem. * In Numbers, it escapes the official gathering and finds two men out in the camp. * In Psalm 104, it is the breath that renews the whole face of the earth. * In 1 Corinthians, it distributes gifts to every member of the body for the good of the whole community. * In John, it is given on Easter evening to a group of frightened disciples and turns them into a sent people — or it is the living water that flows outward from whoever believes.Acts 2 is the natural center for Pentecost preaching. It is the story the day is built around, and its images of wind and fire and languages are difficult to displace. But 1 Corinthians 12 offers a strong complementary angle for congregations that need to hear about the practical, community-shaping work of the Spirit rather than just its dramatic arrival. And for congregations that preached Acts 2 last year and want something different, either John 7:37–39 or John 20:19–23 opens a distinctive door. The psalm works best in worship as a spoken or sung response rather than as the main preaching text, though its image of the Spirit renewing the face of the earth is worth a sentence or two in almost any Pentecost sermon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. John I, 470-526; elected to the papacy in 523; Theodoric the Great to travel to the Byzantine Empire, led by Justin I; the pope obliged, but neither Justin nor the pope changed their views of the heresy of Arianism; when Pope St. John I returned, he was arrested for conspiracy and died a martyr in prison from poor treatment and neglect Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/18/26 Gospel: John 16:29-33

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Isidore the Farmer, 1070-1130; spent most of his life working in the fields of a farm outside of Madrid; he was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields; he is the patron of farmers, and in 1947, he was declared the patron of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in the United States Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/15/26 Gospel: John 16:20-23

Sermon delivered on the Fifth Sunday After Easter, 2026, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by Rev. Tobias Bayer. Epistle: James 1, 22-27. Gospel: John 16, 23-30. Epistle: James 1, 22-27. Gospel: John 16, 23-30.

Gospel  John 14:27-31a Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.” Reflection Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death and resurrection. They have no real understanding of what it is and what it will do for them. But he does make something clear that it's about a sense of well-being, about a sense of peace, knowing that things are the way they need to be, but not necessarily the way we think they should be. Jesus makes it clear that the peace that he offers is not the same kind of peace that we in the world want. The way we want it is no tension, no problems, everything working the way we think it should work. When he's saying, No if you surrender to all that God has planned for you, you will find peace. Just as he says, That my love for the father has enabled me to do whatever he has commanded me. And that's a reference to his death and resurrection. Closing Prayer Father, give us the faith to trust in the way our life unfolds. You love us so intensely that you know what we need more than we know that. And when you do not answer our prayers, give us the wisdom to seek the answer that is there, is promised the answer. Help us to believe in that promise. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices