Reading Plan for Apr. 5 - 11
Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026 | Mark 16:1-8
Reflection:
Between the end of chapter 15 and the beginning of 16, a stretch of time that encompasses parts of three days has agonizingly passed by. We don’t hear what happened for the disciples, for the soldiers, for the priests, scribes, and Pharisees, for the crowds, for all those who’d hope that Jesus would be up to something new and good. It’s as if we’d gone into a troubled sleep, in a shadowy realm without dreams, only to awaken on Sunday morning. Only the women seem to stir. They go boldly where no one else goes: to Jesus’ tomb. They do what’s expected, perhaps in fear that they would expose themselves as Jesus’ followers. But they persist where Peter did not. In the early hours of this Sunday morning, they show the world who they loved. And the world that had been upended two days before is not put right, really. Rather, their world is launched into a radically new order: New Creation! An angel, clothed in sight-blurring white, speaks music-filled words, “Jesus is not dead; he is raised! Go and tell the others!” Fear still grips them, and they run from the tomb. But the truth of this encounter must have brought them to their sense as they fled. Imagine the joy that flooded them as they went. For they must have told the story to someone…because we are reading it now. Allow the world-reshaping news of resurrection to send you running from the old, fearful way of life, toward the kingdom where Jesus meets us and makes us new.
April 6, 2026 | Matthew 1:1-17
Reflection:
As we begin reading the Gospel of Matthew, notice where we start: setting Jesus within his Jewish world. Three words alert us to this Jewishness of Jesus: 1) he is referred to as “the Messiah”; 2) he is named as a descendant of David; and 3) his line is traced to the “founding father” of Judaism, Abraham. All this occurs in the first verse. I encourage you to read this list of Jesus’ ancestors out loud, not worrying if you’re pronouncing each name correctly. Hear two things as you do so: 1) most of these names are male Jewish names; 2) except four of these ancestors named are women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba). These women are “outsiders,” either because they are not Jewish or there is a scandal surrounding them. As you read the whole gospel of Matthew, keep in mind the Jewishness of Jesus and how non-Jews are scandalously welcomed into Jesus’ story.
April 7, 2026 | Matthew 1:18-25
Reflection:
Notice as you read today that this is one of two accounts of Jesus’ birth. Matthew tells of Jesus with details that are missing from Luke. We tend to weave together Luke’s account with Matthew’s to create a harmonized whole. Take time to appreciate how Matthew tells this story his own way. Notice how angels only speak in dreams. Notice that it says that Jesus will be called “Emmanuel,” which means, “God with us.” Even though it isn’t clear that Jesus was ever called this in his lifetime, Christians for centuries find great comfort in thinking of Jesus as being “God with us.” What else in this passage brings you comfort?
April 8, 2026 | Matthew 2:1-23
Reflection:
As you read today’s passage, notice here, and throughout the gospel, how Matthew uses words from his own scriptures (what we call “The Old Testament”) to put Jesus’ story into the context of God’s story as remembered and told by the Jewish people. Matthew draws from Micah 5:2 to point our attention to Bethlehem being foretold as the birthplace of a king-like ruler. On either side of hearing this quote, though, we hear about outsiders who come to figure out what a star is leading them toward. Even these “magi” seem to be spoken of in the Old Testament prophecies:
Isaiah (60:3, 6) prophesies that nations will come to the light of the Messiah, explicitly mentioning caravans bringing gold and frankincense;
The psalmist (72:10,15) predicts that kings of Tarshish, the isles, Sheba, and Seba will bring gifts and fall down before the King;
And in Numbers 24:17: Balaam prophesied of "a star coming out of Jacob.”
The presence of the Magi in Jesus’ story shows how Jesus’ birth takes place on a world stage. Once we get past the Magi, we continue to see how Jesus’ story takes place on a global stage: the Roman-appointed Jewish king seeks to kill Jesus and ends up slaughtering many innocent children. Jesus’ parents flee with him into Egypt and return only when things are relatively safe. And Matthew connects it all to prophecy. Is Matthew telling us, “God has been telling us all along about Jesus and his life. Pay attention!”? What comfort do you take knowing that God appears to be very aware of a bigger picture, even when violence and political machinations continue all around us?
April 9, 2026 | Matthew 3:1-17
Reflection:
Now that we are in the third chapter of Matthew, we have come to the place where Mark began his telling of Jesus’ story: John the Baptist. What we didn’t hear in Mark was John’s sermon, railing against the hypocrisy of those who’ve come out to listen to him. If he thinks that anyone is there just for a spectacle, his harsh words are pointed in their direction: “Do you think that you can just say, ‘We’ve got Abraham as our ancestor!’ and not live righteously? You are wrong! Bear fruit that shows you have turned wholeheartedly toward God.” Matthew includes this detail just after telling us that Jesus has Abraham as his ancestor. But Jesus will show his righteousness in startling ways throughout the gospel story. Notice how at Jesus’ baptism God says, “You are my beloved Son”; Jesus doesn’t need to rely on having Abraham as his “father” - he is directly connected to God. We will learn more about this as we read on. What do you think it means that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? The rest of the gospel story may give us clues.
April 10, 2026 | Matthew 4:1-11
Reflection:
Again we come to a story that Mark tells, but with Matthew, we hear more details. Mark says that the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert, and there he is tempted by the devil. Matthew tells us that the whole purpose of the Spirit’s leading Jesus into the desert is so that he will be tempted by the devil. With Matthew, we hear what specific temptations Jesus faced, and each revolves around power. It is interesting that we think that Jesus is “all-powerful,” being able to do anything God can do. Why would “power” then be a temptation? Remember that we are at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. What Jesus will show us throughout his ministry is how he uses God’s power with humility, never to harm, only to set things right. What the devil offers isn’t about setting anything right, right?
April 11, 2026 | Matthew 4:12-17
Reflection:
Matthew tells us that the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is in accordance with ancient prophecy. He also tells us that Jesus’ ministry takes place in real places. Capernaum is a place that Christian pilgrims have been able to visit for many centuries. You can see an ancient synagogue there. It is in these real places that Jesus spoke of a place of imagination: the kingdom of God. Not a full reality for the people to whom he spoke, but not a fantasy either. The kingdom about which Jesus preached took shape in his parables and in his healing. In his first sermons, Jesus planted the seeds of the kingdom in the minds and hearts of the people who listened. It was like Jesus was turning on a light in a shadowy place. The Kingdom of God begins in the imagination of the mind and of the heart, and inspires us to turn toward God and to live as if the kingdom were already here.