June 7, 2026
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
HOSEA 5:15-6:6; PSALM 50:7-15; ROMANS 4:13-25; MATTHEW 9:9-13, 18-26; GENESIS 12:1-9; PSLAM 33:1-12
Though Jesus was a devout Jew who practiced his faith, he was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinner – the religiously nonobservant. Jesus criticizes the self-righteous and reminds us that mercy is to be at the heart of our religious practices. God continues to be made known in those on the margins of society, like Matthew, the tax collector and the hemorrhaging woman. As we gather each Lord’s day, we receive the healing that makes us well and sends us forth to be signs of God’s mercy for the world.
June 14, 2026
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
EXODUS 19:2-8a; PSALM 100; ROMANS 5:1-8; MATTHEW 9:35-10:8 [10:9-23]; GENESIS 18:1-15 [21:1-7]; PSALM 116:1-2, 12-19
Moses tells the Israelites that they are called to be a priestly kingdom and a holy people. Jesus sends out the disciples as laborers into the harvest. In baptism we too are anointed for ministry, sharing God’s compassion with our needy world. From the Lord’s table we go forth to proclaim the good news, to heal the sick, and to share our bread with the hungry.
June 21, 2026
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
God does not promise that the path of the disciple will be easy. Jeremiah feels the pain of rejection from those who do not want to hear what he has to say. Jesus declares that his words may bring stark division. Even so, we need not be afraid for God accounts for each hair on our heads. Though we may experience rejection, frustration, division, and death, God’s grace and love make us a new creation each day. Marked with the cross and filled with holy food, we are sent from worship to witness to Christ in the world.
June 28, 2026
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
JEREMIAH 28:5-9; PSALM 89:1-4, 15-18; ROMANS 6:12-23; MATTHEW 10:4-42; GENESIS 22:1-14; PSALM 13
The welcome of baptism is for all God’s children. The baptismal gift sets us free from the power of sin and death. In today’s gospel, Christ promises that the disciple who gives a cup of cold water to the little ones serves Christ himself. From worship we are sent on our baptismal mission: to serve the little ones of this world and to be a sign of God’s merciful welcome.
