Month: May 2025

“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” [John 17:20-21]. On his last night with his disciples, Jesus did many things. He shared a meal with them, washed their feet, gave them a new commandment to love one another, and answered question after question about where he was going, why he was leaving, and how they would carry on without him. And after…

They were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them [Acts 16:6b–7, NRSV]. Sometimes, God leads by telling us where not to go. That’s what happens in Acts 16, in the verses that lead up to the First Reading assigned for this upcoming Sunday [ Acts 16:9-15 the Sixth Sunday of Easter, RCL, Year C]. Paul and his companions are traveling across Asia Minor, sharing the gospel. They’re moving intentionally, faithfully, making plans to go deeper into the province of Asia. But then something strange happens:…

Now the Son of Man has been glorified… [John 13:31]. As the Easter season moves toward its close, the lectionary takes us not forward in time but backward—to the night of betrayal, when Jesus speaks of “glory” even as Judas walks out the door. This Sunday, the Gospel reading is John 13:31–35 [the Fifth Sunday of Easter, RCL, Year C]. In John’s Gospel, glory is not a reward after the cross but is revealed through it. In these verses, Jesus gives his disciples a mandatum novum—a “new” commandment—to love one another “as I have loved you” [13:34]. The timing of that commandment matters. It is given not in triumph, but in…

In the Book of Acts, nestled among more familiar stories of Pentecost and Paul’s dramatic conversion, we find the First Lesson for this upcoming Sunday [Acts 9:36-43, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, RCL, Year C]. It’s a quietly powerful narrative about a woman named Tabitha. Though her story isn’t well known, and spans just eight verses, it opens windows into the nature of discipleship, community, and resurrection that continue to illuminate our understanding of faith today. The narrative is straightforward: In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor [Acts 9:36]. Luke, with characteristic economy, tells…