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Date: Sunday, May 3, 2026
Liturgical Context: Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A)
Lectionary Source: Vanderbilt Divinity Library

Today’s Lectionary Readings

  • Acts 7:55-60: The witness and martyrdom of Stephen.
  • Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16: A prayer for deliverance and trust in God’s steadfast love.
  • 1 Peter 2:2-10: The call to be living stones built into a spiritual house.
  • John 14:1-14: Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, promising a place for his followers.

Featured Scripture

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"
— John 14:1-2

"My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love."
— Psalm 31:15-16

Associated Artwork

The Sun (1911) by Edvard Munch
Location: University Aula, Oslo, Norway

Munch painted this monumental mural to capture the raw, overwhelming, and life-giving power of light. It mirrors the psalmist’s plea: "Let your face shine upon your servant." After a long, dark season, the bursting rays of the sun in Munch's work remind us of the uncontainable grace of a God who breaks through chaotic horizons to bring warmth and refuge.

Pastoral Reflection

Everyday life provides many reasons for "troubled hearts." Between severe weather patterns moving through our communities, the rising costs of daily living, and the quiet anxieties we carry regarding family, health, or the future, the environment can feel overwhelming.

Many of us understand the experience of living in high-stress environments where a shifting economy or a loved one’s struggle with mental health creates a constant state of hyper-vigilance. When life feels out of control, our natural instinct is to manufacture our own security by overworking, comparing ourselves to others, or attempting to manage the expectations of everyone around us to avoid feelings of abandonment.

Into this reality, Jesus offers a word of profound pastoral care: "Do not let your hearts be troubled... I go to prepare a place for you."

The promise of the Easter season is not that the storms of life will immediately cease, but that there is room for you. Security in God’s household is not earned through perfection or effort. When exhausted from balancing the roles of caregiver, worker, parent, or student, we are invited to practice the art of relinquishment. Like the psalmist, we can find peace in the declaration, "My times are in your hand."

Because Christ has established a dwelling place for us, our perspective on daily life changes. Secure in God's grace, we are freed to become a refuge for others. We are empowered to ensure our neighbors do not have to face their own storms alone, becoming a shelter for the outcast and a source of support for the stranger.

Whatever is troubling your heart today, entrust it to the Creator. Let the light of His face shine upon you and rest in the truth that your place is already prepared.

Prayer

Faithful God, I commit this day, and all its anxieties, into your hands. When the news is heavy, and my own heart is troubled, remind me that you have made a dwelling place for me. Let your face shine upon me today, that I may find rest in your steadfast love rather than my own efforts. As I receive your grace, give me the eyes to see those around me who need a reminder that they are not alone. In the name of Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.