Introduction This guide covers the four Revised Common Lectionary readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A (May 17, 2026). This Sunday falls between Ascension Thursday (May 14) and Pentecost (May 24), and it has a distinctive texture: Jesus has departed, the Spirit has not yet come, and the community is left waiting. All four readings inhabit that in-between space in different ways — the disciples returning to Jerusalem to pray, the psalmist declaring God’s power even in the midst of apparent absence, the epistle calling a suffering community to hold on, and John 17 giving a window into what Jesus was praying for these specific people on the night he was handed over. The Readings Acts 1:6–14 The First Lesson — The Ascension and the Waiting Disciples Summary Just before Jesus ascends, the disciples ask him whether this is the moment he will restore the kingdom to Israel. He does not answer the question directly — that timing, he says, is the Father’s to know, not theirs. What they will receive is the Holy Spirit, and when that happens they will be his witnesses — starting in Jerusalem, spreading out through Judea and Samaria, and reaching to the ends of the earth. Then he is lifted up and a cloud takes him from their sight. Two figures in white appear and gently challenge the disciples: why are they still standing there gazing up? Jesus has gone to heaven and will come back the same way. The disciples return to Jerusalem, go to the upper room, and join together constantly in prayer — along with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Key Ideas for Preaching 1. The disciples’ question about restoring the kingdom to Israel is often read as a sign of their continued misunderstanding — they are still thinking too small, too nationalistically. But it is worth handling that reading with some care. Their question comes from a genuine hope rooted in their scriptures. Jesus does not rebuke them; he simply redirects. Perhaps we can use this moment to reflect on what it looks like when our hopes are real but our frame is too narrow. 2. The shape of witness Jesus describes — Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth — is not just a geography lesson. It is a pattern of expanding circles, each one harder than the last. Samaria was not neutral territory for these Jewish disciples. We might think of what it means for witness to move toward people who are genuinely difficult for us to reach. 3. The angels’ question — ‘Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?’ — is one of the most practically useful lines in Acts. The disciples have just watched Jesus leave. They need to turn around and go back. The question is not a scolding; it is an orientation. This redirection can help us to address the temptation to keep looking backward or upward when there is work to do in front of us. 4. What the disciples do when they return to Jerusalem is pray — together, persistently, with the women and with Mary and with Jesus’ brothers. This is the portrait of the church in the days between Ascension and Pentecost: waiting, together, in prayer. That portrait is worth holding up for a congregation. Waiting is not the same as doing nothing. Significant Cautions ⚠ The question about restoring the kingdom to Israel has a complicated history. It has been used both to dismiss Jewish hopes as misguided and to fuel certain kinds of Christian political theology that claim to know exactly what God is about to do in history. Jesus’ answer resists both moves. Let the text redirect rather than resolve in either of those directions. ⚠ The two Sundays between Ascension and Pentecost are liturgically important but often feel awkward to preach — Jesus has gone, the Spirit has not yet come, and it is easy to rush toward Pentecost before sitting in the waiting. This Sunday is an invitation to stay in that in-between space rather than skipping past it. ⚠ The phrase ‘ends of the earth’ has been used to justify missionary expansion in ways that caused serious harm to indigenous cultures and communities. We want to handle the call to witness with clear-eyed awareness of that history, without abandoning the genuine call to carry good news beyond comfortable boundaries. Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35 The Psalm — The God Who Rides Through the Skies Summary This is one of the most ancient and complex psalms in the Psalter — a triumphant song celebrating God’s power over enemies, God’s care for the vulnerable, and God’s majesty over all the earth. The opening verses call on God to rise up and scatter enemies, while the righteous rejoice. Then the tone shifts to tender care: God is father to the orphan, defender of the widow, one who gives the desolate a home and leads prisoners out to prosperity. The appointed closing verses pick up the theme of God’s majesty — God rides through the ancient skies, thunders from on high, and gives strength and power to the people. The psalm closes with a call to bless God. Key Ideas for Preaching 1. Read on the Sunday after the Ascension, this psalm’s image of God riding through the skies takes on a particular resonance — it is a picture of divine power and presence that moves, that travels, that is not stationary. It is possible to connect this to the Ascension: Jesus does not disappear but moves into a different kind of presence and authority. 2. The heart of this psalm, easily lost between the triumphant verses, is its portrait of God as the one who homes the homeless, frees the prisoner, and rains provision on the weary. God’s power is not exercised against the vulnerable — it is exercised on their behalf. This is worth dwelling on carefully, especially when military imagery elsewhere in the psalm might obscure it. 3. The closing doxology — ‘awesome is God in his sanctuary... he gives power and strength to his people’ — is a word of encouragement for a community in a liminal moment. Between Ascension and Pentecost, the disciples have no visible sign of power. This psalm insists that God’s strength is still at work, even when it is not yet manifest. Significant Cautions ⚠ The military imagery in this psalm is vivid and at times jarring — God scattering enemies, smoke driven away, wax melting before fire. We can not and should not simply smooth this over, but we should also be clear that the psalm’s energy is directed toward liberation of the vulnerable, not toward endorsing violence. The enemies in view are powers that oppress the weak. ⚠ Psalm 68 is one of the most difficult psalms to translate and interpret — scholars disagree about the meaning of numerous phrases. We do not need to resolve these debates, but they should be aware that confident claims about specific details in this psalm may be standing on shakier ground than they appear. ⚠ The image of God as a warrior riding into battle can be appropriated in ways that sanctify human violence or military power. That is a serious distortion. The psalm’s point is that God’s power belongs to God alone — it cannot be borrowed by any nation or army. 1 Peter 4:12–14; 5:6–11 The Epistle — Fiery Trials and the God Who Restores Summary The letter speaks directly to people experiencing real suffering. Do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that has come upon you, the writer says — as if something strange were happening. Sharing in Christ’s sufferings is something to rejoice in, because it means you will also share in his glory when it is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed — the Spirit of glory rests on you. The passage then skips to chapter 5, where the tone becomes equally direct: humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and at the right time God will lift you up. Cast all your anxiety on God, because God cares for you. Stay alert — your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are suffering the same things. The God of all grace, who has called you to eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. Key Ideas for Preaching 1. The instruction not to be surprised by suffering is not callous — it is realistic preparation. The letter is written to people who did not expect their faith to cost them, and who are now disoriented by the cost. Naming that disorientation as normal, rather than as a sign that something has gone wrong, can be a genuine pastoral gift. 2. The promise that God will ‘restore, support, strengthen, and establish’ the suffering community is one of the most comprehensive descriptions of divine care in the New Testament. Try taking each word slowly — restore (what has been damaged), support (hold up what is struggling), strengthen (build what is weak), establish (set firmly what is wavering). That is a full picture of what recovery looks like. 3. The image of the devil as a prowling lion is vivid, and feels like we must either over-literalize it or void it entirely. The more useful angle may be the practical instruction that goes with it: stay alert, resist, stand firm, knowing you are not alone. The community of faith around the world is going through the same thing. That solidarity is real and should not be rushed past. 4. Casting anxiety on God because God cares for you is one of the most quoted verses in this letter, and for good reason. It is worth asking what it actually looks like to do this — not as an abstract spiritual practice, but as a concrete act. What does it mean to let something go because you trust the one holding it? Significant Cautions ⚠ Telling people not to be surprised by suffering can become dismissive if it is not accompanied by genuine acknowledgment of how hard the suffering is. The letter itself does not minimize what its readers are going through — it names it as fiery, as a trial.
