Reading Plan for May 3 - 9
May 3, 2026 | Matthew 10:16-25
Reflection:
Jesus does not preach a prosperity gospel here. He tells his learners that this life may very well be difficult, especially when you try to bear the light of God out to a world that prefers darkness. Notice the words of comfort Jesus tells them, “The Spirit of the Father will be with you.” The Letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus is the exact imprint of the Father, manifesting on earth the very substance of God, radiating out the brilliant light of heaven. The Spirit of the Father that is seen and known in Jesus is promised to be with us in the midst of all this world has to offer. We could almost hear the echo of Jesus’ words, “Do not worry, distracted or divided,” by all the world does to try to squelch the light. In what ways have you known the Spirit of the Father to have been with you in difficult times?
May 4, 2026 | Matthew 10:26-33
Reflection:
“Have no fear for there is nothing that is covered that won’t be uncovered.” This is what the Greek says. The root word used here is kalupto- (covered). You may be more familiar with its counterpart apokalupto- (uncovered) or as is seen in the last book of the New Testament: Apocalypse or Revelation. Jesus teaching “do not worry” was more about life in general: don’t be distracted; God will provide. As we draw closer to the end of Jesus’ life, his preaching takes a distinct turn. It becomes more apocalyptic. Jesus begins to talk more about the “turn of the ages” and eternity. “Every day you are to trust in God. And as the turn of the ages draws near, even more so, you are not to fear.” God knows every hair of our head. How much more so is God aware of our value as beloved children, sons and daughters, heirs of the kingdom that is coming? How are we to acknowledge Jesus in this life? Live the kingdom life so that our lives are testimonies to the goodness of God. How do you acknowledge Jesus in your daily living? What truth of the kingdom needs to be uncovered so that you will trust God more fully?
May 5, 2026 | Matthew 10:34-42
Reflection:
Sometimes we read passages and think, “Is this the Jesus I’ve always known?” Some passages challenge the picture we hold of Jesus as “Mr. Peace, Love & Joy.” And such passages require that we either skip over them and not think too deeply, or we take a deeper look at the context. Jesus often speaks hyperbolically, that is, he speaks in extremes to get our attention. You can choose to understand him literally or see that he is provoking our imagination to see the weightiness of the life of discipleship. Jesus didn’t literally come with a sword. He quite possibly means here that, when one becomes a disciple and lives righteously and justly, a wedge can be drawn between you and others. This separation can be painful, especially the closer the relationship once was. The word Jesus preached was incisive. The road of discipleship was costly…, and in all that loss, one could gain everything. One way we name Jesus’ mission is “reconciliation” (Greek katallagē). This word could also be translated as “atonement” or “unification.” Jesus’ mission was to reconcile all people to God and to one another. This is what at-one-ment originally meant: to make all things one. So, when we hear of the path of discipleship separating people, we hope that this is a human consequence of the reconciling love of God. Some people are not going to welcome it or accept it. For now. We pray that all will one day know the unifying, at-oning love of God.
May 6, 2026 | Matthew 11:1-19
Reflection:
John the baptizer is an enigmatic (mysterious, puzzling, and difficult to understand or interpret) figure. Why is he even in Jesus’ story? Most likely because he was there in Roman Palestine having a parallel ministry to Jesus’, speaking of a coming kingdom of God and calling for people to repent and turn toward God. The crowds were with John, even though he was never complimentary toward them. In the decades after Jesus’ death, there were still some followers of John out in the empire. We read in Acts 19:1-7 that the apostle Paul encountered roughly twelve disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus who were familiar with John's baptism of repentance but were ignorant of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the full Christian message. Paul explained that John pointed to Jesus; consequently, they were baptized in Jesus' name, received the Holy Spirit, and spoke in tongues. Notice how Jesus speaks highly of John and, at the same time, criticizes the “soft” political and religious leaders of his day. “Soft” here means that they were most likely living in luxury while the people they ruled over led “hard” lives. Jesus says that the work of the kingdom, preaching “good news”, is not an easy calling nor is it met with earthly rewards. Jesus says that those who work for the kingdom must do so with humility and integrity. The last words we hear in this passage are: “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” To know more about this Wisdom, who was from the beginning beside God working as master architect, read the Book of Proverbs, especially chapter 8. Jesus says that John is the model for genuine wisdom and character, and will be known for all future generations by his integrous deeds. How would you prefer to be remembered? What are the deeds that live after you? How is God announcing the kingdom through your actions?
May 7, 2026 | Matthew 11:20-28
Reflection:
These verses begin with woe and end in blessing. There are many Bible passages that do this. Many psalms have this pattern. We may think that, if we had been alive in Jesus’ day, we would have understood his message, followed him with deep trust, and turned towards God’s coming kingdom with joyful faithfulness. Yet, notice that Jesus appears exacerbated that whole cities full of people had the chance to witness “deeds of power” (Greek dynamis, from which we get “dynamite”) done in their midst. And they did not believe, they were not moved, they did not “turn” to God in humility and faithful trust. His exacerbation boils over into a near curse. And then we get a turn. Jesus turns to God in gratitude for all that God has made possible through Jesus’ ministry. What flows out of this turn to gratitude is a gracious invitation to “Come and experience blessing.” If you know Handel’s Messiah, you know that the last duet and chorus of Part I ends with these gentle words of Jesus: rest for your souls. This is what Jesus would have preferred to offer all those town folks who missed his message. “Don’t you get the restorative power of God’s gracious welcome?” Jesus’ frustration comes from wanting everyone to come and be relieved and restored. Through gratitude, Jesus shifts from “woe” to “light.” What helps you to turn to God’s light?
May 8, 2026 | Matthew 12:1-14
Reflection:
In the first century, during the time of Jesus’ ministry, there was no one way of being Jewish. There was great diversity in the interpretation of scripture as it shaped daily living. The Jewish people of Jesus’ day had many different social, political, and religious identities. One thing, however, that may have united their identity as “Jewish” would have been their sense that Torah (law) was sacred. Now torah can mean instruction, teaching, and guidance, as well as “law.” It was an all-encompassing force that shaped life. And it was God-given. In Jesus’ day, folks like the Pharisees had very strict interpretations of how one was to live “lawfully,” that is, under the Torah. When Jesus’ actions countered their understanding of the Torah, they saw Jesus not only as a rule-breaker, but as one who tore at the very fabric of reality…violating God’s carefully constructed ordering of life. Jesus, in response to their criticism of him, points them to the heart of torah: to do what is good and loving and kind, and thereby, to do what is godly. In every generation, there are those who seem to violate our understanding of a carefully ordered and just society. How do we assess whether such people are creating harmful chaos or “good trouble”? It seems that Jesus got into a whole lot of “good trouble” in embodying God’s reconciling and healing mission in this world.
May 9, 2026 | Matthew 12:15-32
Reflection:
What we hear in today’s verses is that the trouble deepens. Jesus is aware that the Pharisees and others are out to destroy him. They are just “out to defame his reputation”; this is about utter annihilation. Jesus moves on, but because of his mission, trouble erupts wherever he goes. Jesus is all about setting things right. The trouble is that “things” don’t want to be set right. In the midst of deepening trouble, Jesus goes on healing, which is part of God’s overall work of reconciliation. We hear the echo of this work from the prophet Isaiah, and Isaiah highlights the work of the Spirit. When people criticized Jesus, he turns it all around and says, “One can only do good by the power of God’s Spirit, and if you criticize the good that is done by God’s Spirit, I really don’t think there’s any hope that you’ll ever be able to see God’s kingdom, which is very near.” What work of the Spirit is God calling you to do this day? How are you bearing witness to God’s reconciling work in the world today?