reference

We have no good apart from God. That makes Jesus’ call to follow him an invitation to freedom. This is freedom to revel in the Spirit’s fruit: love, joy, peace, and patience. This is freedom to not be imprisoned by anything that would keep us from the fullness of the life God has given us. This is the path of life.

 

Prayer of the Day

Sovereign God, ruler of all hearts, you call us to obey you, and you favor us with true freedom. Keep us faithful to the ways of your Son, that, leaving behind all that hinders us, we may steadfastly follow your paths, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

 

Readings and Psalm

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62

 

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

¹⁵Then the Lord said to [Elijah,] “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
 ¹⁹So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. ²⁰He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” ²¹He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

 

Psalm: Psalm 16

¹Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you;
 I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.”
²All my delight is in the godly that are in the land,
 upon those who are noble among the people.
³But those who run after other gods
 shall have their troubles multiplied.
⁴I will not pour out drink offerings to such gods,
 never take their names upon my lips. 
⁵O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;
 it is you who uphold my lot.
⁶My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;
 indeed, I have a rich inheritance.
⁷I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
 my heart teaches me night after night.
⁸I have set the Lord always before me;
 because God is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 
⁹My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
 my body also shall rest in hope.
¹⁰For you will not abandon me to the grave,
 nor let your holy one see the pit.
¹¹You will show me the path of life;
 in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

 

Second Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

¹For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

 ¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. ¹⁴For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

 ¹⁶Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 ²²By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

 

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

⁵¹When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then they went on to another village.
 ⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

This Sunday’s texts paint startling pictures of the horrific nature of sin. The church’s repeated celebration of holy communion counters that tragic reality in a continued showing forth of the death of Jesus until he comes again. It is a dramatic declaration of “how much God has done for you.”

Prayer of the Day

O Lord God, we bring before you the cries of a sorrowing world. In your mercy set us free from the chains that bind us, and defend us from everything that is evil, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalm 22:19-28
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39

 

First Reading: Isaiah 65:1-9

¹I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
 to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
 to a nation that did not call on my name.
²I held out my hands all day long
 to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
 following their own devices;
³a people who provoke me
 to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
 and offering incense on bricks;
⁴who sit inside tombs,
 and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
 with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
⁵who say, “Keep to yourself,
 do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
 a fire that burns all day long.
⁶See, it is written before me:
 I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
 ⁷their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,
says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
 and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
 full payment for their actions.
⁸Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
 and they say, “Do not destroy it,
 for there is a blessing in it,”
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
 and not destroy them all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
 and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
 and my servants shall settle there.

 

Psalm: Psalm 22:19-28

¹⁹But you, O Lord, be not far away;
 O my help, hasten to my aid.
²⁰Deliver me from the sword,
 my life from the power of the dog.
²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth!
 From the horns of wild bulls you have rescued me.
²²I will declare your name to my people;
 in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. 
²³You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
 Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
²⁴For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them;
 but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
²⁵From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
 I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
 Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever! 
²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
 all the families of nations shall bow before God.
²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,
 who rules over the nations. 

 

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

²³Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

 

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39

²⁶Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—²⁹for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) ³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. ³¹They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
 ³²Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
 ³⁴When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

 

“O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Today we celebrate the holy Trinity. Paul writes that through Jesus we have peace with God, whose love pours into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, giving us lasting hope. We celebrate the gracious One-in-Three, eternal Three-in-One, as we worship in community; as we share water and word, bread and wine; and as we bring God’s love and hope to our neighbors.

Prayer of the Day

God of heaven and earth, before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time you are the triune God: Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom. Guide us to all truth by your Spirit, that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed and rejoice in the glory he shares with us. Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15 

First Reading: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

 ¹Does not wisdom call,
  and does not understanding raise her voice?
 ²On the heights, beside the way,
  at the crossroads she takes her stand;
 ³beside the gates in front of the town,
  at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
 ⁴“To you, O people, I call,
  and my cry is to all that live.

 ²²The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
  the first of his acts of long ago.
 ²³Ages ago I was set up,
  at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
 ²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth,
  when there were no springs abounding with water.
 ²⁵Before the mountains had been shaped,
  before the hills, I was brought forth—
 ²⁶when he had not yet made earth and fields,
  or the world’s first bits of soil.
 ²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there,
  when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
 ²⁸when he made firm the skies above,
  when he established the fountains of the deep,
 ²⁹when he assigned to the sea its limit,
  so that the waters might not transgress his command,
 when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
  ³⁰then I was beside him, like a master worker;
 and I was daily his delight,
  rejoicing before him always,
 ³¹rejoicing in his inhabited world
  and delighting in the human race.” 

Psalm: Psalm 8

¹O Lord our Lord,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth!—
²you whose glory is chanted above the heavens out of the mouths of infants and children;
 you have set up a fortress against your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger. 
³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
⁴what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them,
 human beings that you should care for them? 
⁵Yet you have made them little less than divine;
 with glory and honor you crown them.
⁶You have made them rule over the works of your hands;
 you have put all things under their feet:
⁷all flocks and cattle,
 even the wild beasts of the field,
⁸the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
 and whatever passes along the paths of the sea.
⁹O Lord our Lord,
 how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-5

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Gospel: John 16:12-15

[Jesus said,] ¹²“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

On Pentecost, we celebrate that we have been given an Advocate to accompany us. Poured out in wind and fire, water, wine, and bread, the Holy Spirit abides in and among us. We give thanks that God speaks to each of us, no matter our origins, language, or life path. Filled with the Spirit of truth, we go out from worship to proclaim the saving power of Christ’s love and the freedom of God’s grace with all the world.

 

Prayer of the Day

God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of earth. By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

Readings and Psalm

Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17, 25-27

 

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] 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.’ ”

 

Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

²⁴How manifold are your works, O Lord!
 In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too many to number,
 living things both small and great.
²⁶There go the ships to and fro,
 and Leviathan, which you made for the sport of it.
²⁷All of them look to you
 to give them their food in due season. 
²⁸You give it to them; they gather it;
 you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
²⁹When you hide your face, they are terrified;
 when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
³⁰You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
 and so you renew the face of the earth.
³¹May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
 O Lord, rejoice in all your works. 
³²You look at the earth and it trembles;
 you touch the mountains and they smoke.
³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
 I will praise my God while I have my being.
³⁴May these words of mine please God.
 I will rejoice in the Lord.
^35bBless the Lord, O my soul.
 Hallelujah! 

 

Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

 

Gospel: John 14:8-17, 25-27

⁸Philip said to [Jesus,] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
 ¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
 ²⁵“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

 

It is possible to hear in Jesus’ high priestly prayer, a prayer he offered shortly before his death, the petitions of the ascended Christ for his own throughout history—to our day—and beyond. Jesus prays for us. In holy baptism we become believers in God, have our robes washed in the flood of Christ’s forgiveness, and receive the gift of life forever with all the saints.

Prayer of the Day

O God, form the minds of your faithful people into your one will. Make us love what you command and desire what you promise, that, amid all the changes of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

Readings and Psalm

Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26

 

First Reading: Acts 16:16-34

¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. ¹⁷While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” ¹⁸She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
 ¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews ²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” ²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
 ²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. ²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. ³⁴He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

 

Psalm: Psalm 97

¹The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice;
 let the multitude of the isles be glad.
²Clouds and darkness surround the Lord,
 righteousness and justice are the foundations of God’s throne.
³Fire goes before the Lord,
 burning up enemies on every side.
⁴Lightnings light up the world;
 the earth sees and trembles.
⁵The mountains melt like wax
 before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶The heavens declare your righteousness, O Lord,
 and all the peoples see your glory. 
⁷Confounded be all who worship carved images and delight in false gods!
 Bow down before the Lord, all you gods.
⁸Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice,
 because of your judgments, O Lord.
⁹For you are the Lord, most high over all the earth;
 you are exalted far above all gods.
¹⁰You who love the Lord, hate evil!
 God guards the lives of the saints and rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
¹¹Light dawns for the righteous,
 and joy for the honest of heart.
¹²Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
 and give thanks to God’s holy name. 

 

Second Reading: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

¹²“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

 ¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
 ¹⁶“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
 ¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
 And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
 And let everyone who is thirsty come.
 Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
 ²⁰The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
 ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

 

Gospel: John 17:20-26

[Jesus prayed:] ²⁰“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that 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. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ²⁴Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
 ²⁵“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Visions abound in the readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter. Paul has a vision about what to do. John has a vision of what will be. Jesus provides visions of peace that surpasses human understanding and power beyond human imagination.

Prayer of the Day

Bountiful God, you gather your people into your realm, and you promise us food from your tree of life. Nourish us with your word, that empowered by your Spirit we may love one another and the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings and Psalm

Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
John 14:23-29

First Reading: Acts 16:9-15

⁹During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

 ¹¹We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. ¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

Psalm: Psalm 67

 ¹May God be merciful to us and bless us;
  may the light of God’s face shine upon us.
 ²Let your way be known upon earth,
  your saving health among all nations.
 ³Let the peoples praise you, O God;
  let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
  for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations on earth. 
 ⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;
  let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁶The earth has brought forth its increase;
  God, our own God, has blessed us.
 ⁷May God give us blessing,
  and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe. 

Second Reading: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

¹⁰And in the spirit [one of the angels] carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
 ²²I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
 ^22:1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Gospel: John 14:23-29

²³Jesus answered, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
 ²⁵“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”