Break Open the Word

The Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 Saint John 17:20-26 BACKGROUND This is the last Sunday of Easter, and the Sunday that follows the Ascension of Our Lord.   The readings are anticipatory of the coming Sunday, the Day of Pentecost.   Look for the following as you read these lessons: the role of water and of baptism, mentions of the Spirit, and how Jesus is pictured (and how God is depicted as well) in the readings.   Acts 16:16-34 With Paul and Silas, we came to Philippi in Macedonia, a Roman colony, and, 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. While 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." She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you ...

The Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 16:9-15 Psalm 67 Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5 Saint John 5:1-9 BACKGROUND The reading from Acts for today makes us aware of the travels of Saint Paul, as he worked to bring the Gospel to gentiles living outside of Palestine.   There were several journeys, at least five to Jerusalem, where he met with Peter, and James, to discuss how the early church was to receive the new converts.   In addition there are what were called the three “Missionary Journeys” in which Paul initiated and then later visited the congregations that he founded in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy.   The reading from Acts is from the second of these missionary journeys. Acts 16:9-15 During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the goo...

The Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 9:36-43 Psalm 23 Revelation 7:9-17 Saint John 10:22-30 The Ghent Altarpiece – The Adoration of the Lamb, Hubert and Jan Van Eyck BACKGROUND The Sundays of Easter are suspended between two great liturgical feasts: The Resurrection of our Lord, Easter Day, and the Day of Pentecost.   One serves as a culmination of the Passion Cycle, and the other serves as a beginning to a season of the Holy Spirit.   The readings during Eastertide prepare us for this transition, with Jesus looking ahead to the gift he will give to sustain the community after his departure.   All of the readings this morning prepare us for the gift of the Spirit and the new horizons to which she will lead us.   See if you can see what the signs of the coming Spirit are. Acts 11:1-18 Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised b...