Reading Plan for May 31 - June 6

May 31, 2026 | Matthew 19:1-15
Reflection:
Notice what memories come to you when you read about Jesus’ teaching on divorce. I remember in the sixth grade, there was one girl whose parents got divorced. The whole sixth grade knew about it; it was shocking. No one knew how to talk to the girl. This was the 1970s, over 1900 years after Jesus taught about husbands and wives separating, and people were still scandalized by divorce. Jesus said that not everyone would be able to handle this teaching. Only those “to whom it has been given” will be able to live this out. Jesus seems to say, “ Do not divorce lightly…nor enter into marriage without deep consideration for the covenant in which you bind yourselves before God.” Notice what feelings you carry about divorce, and pray that God will heal such divisions. There was a 3rd-century monk and theologian who made himself a eunuch for God’s kingdom. This was extreme in his day and even now seems too harsh. Jesus calls us to a life of devotion and service. Each of us is called to live that out in our own way. Disfiguring the body to serve God doesn’t seem a healthy approach. Again, consider the cost of discipleship deeply.

June 1, 2026 | Matthew 19:16-30
Reflection:
The last words of this passage help us read what comes before: “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Jesus points us to the great reversals of the kingdom, where the least and the lost have all they need and find a place. Discipleship is a call to relinquish whatever distracts us from experiencing and sharing the kingdom life. The distractions of wealth are no less preoccupying than the distractions of poverty. The rich and the poor and everyone alike are called to put their trust more fully in God’s provision and to provide for others’ needs. The young man in our story is called to relinquishment in a big way. Each of us may be called to varying degrees to “let go and let God.” What may God be calling you to let go of so that you and others may experience the kingdom more fully?

June 2, 2026 | Matthew 20:1-16
Reflection:
Jesus appears to want to stir up an emotional reaction with this parable. Is he proposing economic theory? Most likely, no. Jesus’ parables often are hyperbolic, that is, talking in extremes to create a reaction. Jesus wants to tell us about the kingdom. The kingdom doesn’t work like life here and now. It is something altogether different. In our world (even 2000 years after Jesus’ time), we still, most often, pay people according to some measure of work output. The kingdom is something wholly different. Is Jesus saying that the kingdom is not merit-based? Is this a teaching about the nature of grace (abundant and free?) This parable seems to relate to the story of the Prodigal Son. In that story, the older brother gets quite upset that his brother is graciously received back into the fold and receives so much good, even though he carelessly wasted all he had. Imagine how the crowds would have reacted to Jesus’ teaching about everyone receiving the same in the kingdom. It’s just not how this world works, Jesus! “Exactly,” Jesus might have responded. “The kingdom is something wholly surprising.” How do you want to experience the kingdom of God?

June 3, 2026 | Matthew 20:17-28
Reflection:
Jesus foretells his death again, and the disciples don’t seem to be listening. Immediately, we get a story of two disciples, coming with their mother, to ask who has greater prominence in the kingdom. How frustrated would Jesus have been? He’s been teaching them about the nature of the kingdom being wholly different from this world, and yet they seem to want to bring the hierarchies of this world into God’s realm. Jesus is having none of it. He jars their attention away from their trying to plan according to the ways of this world. Jesus says, “If you want to be first in the kingdom, learn what a slave’s life is all about. Become a servant of all. And, then, maybe you’ll begin to understand the way things work in the kingdom.” No wonder the disciples were dismayed that James and John provoked such a teaching from Jesus. None of them wanted to live the life of a slave! Notice, however, how a later disciple of Jesus, Paul, constantly referred to himself as “a slave of Christ.” In the post-resurrection life, the disciples and early Christians learned what it meant to be slaves to one another. This was their foretaste of the kingdom.

June 4, 2026 | Matthew 20:29-34
Reflection:
Matthew often doubles things, in comparison to Mark. Here we have two blind men, where Mark only had one. Does this add intensity to the story? Notice as you read what it might have meant for these two men, hearing about this healer Jesus, to dare to call out to him for help. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment in their day. What is it that would motivate you most to call out to the Healer to bring you a glimpse of wholeness? Notice as well that Jesus was moved by compassion. He responds to their desperation and creates genuine change for them. What do you suppose these two did for the rest of their lives, now that they could see? How would you live if Jesus did something that radical for you?

June 5, 2026 | Matthew 21:1-11
Reflection:
Read today’s scripture as if you were doing so for the first time. Put yourself into the story as if you were experiencing it at ground level. What do you see? What do you hear? What fears arise as things unfold? What wonder? We call this day now “Palm Sunday.” But no one in the story knew what meaning this day would hold for generations to come. As you walk along with Jesus and the disciples, what meaning comes to you? What would you want to tell future generations about what you saw and heard?

June 6, 2026 | Matthew 21:12-22
Reflection:
Practice again, placing yourself in the story. Walk through it as if you didn’t know what was going to happen next. What do you notice? Do you see that, in the midst of the chaos, as Jesus cleanses the temple, upsetting a lot of people, still the blind and the lame come to him? What a remarkable thing to happen. Notice how, as Jesus is setting all things right, he does so by making good trouble and healing. How has Jesus’ righteousness-making played out in your own life? Have you experienced Jesus cleansing the temple of your life? Has Jesus brought restoration to you in the midst of the world’s uproar? How has Jesus’ saying, “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive,” played out in your life? What would you most like to be transformed in your life? Does it feel like a mountain now? How can the faithfulness of Jesus help you move that mountain? Jesus calls us to faith and faithfulness again and again. How are you answering that call?