The Seventh Sunday of Easter – First Reading – 05/17/2026

This reading recounts the obedience of the eleven surviving apostles, Mary, Jesus’s brothers, and “some women,” as they wait in Jerusalem for the Jesus’s promised coming of the Holy Spirit.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lector. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lectors to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the May 17th, Sunday Mass's first reading. It's the seventh Sunday of Easter, year A. A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. After Jesus had been taken up to heaven, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem, from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John, and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers, the Word of the Lord. Welcome to the seventh Sunday of Easter, y'all. I gotta be honest. This is a bit of a ho-hum reading, but we'll do the best we can to bring it to life. So let's get to it, shall we? I always start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectures make it mean anything to the congregation before us? This reading is a simple narrative of events that seems to open a story it doesn't finish. Or, putting it another way, it's in between actions. It immediately follows Jesus' ascension into heaven and then is followed by the selection of Matthias to replace Judas, which is then followed by Pentecost. The primary action in this reading is waiting, which is not very exciting. But the apostles and others are doing exactly what Jesus told them earlier. He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, about which you have heard me speak. See Acts 1.4. Of course, we know the promise to be the sending of the Holy Spirit. So they were only following instructions, but instructions from the one they saw die on a cross, resurrect from the dead, and ascend to heaven, who most of them would end up dying for. They were all in. Proclaim these events, or non-events, in an informative tone. The best way to make this come to life for your listeners is to engage in with lots of eye contact. What do you learn from this reading? We begin. After Jesus had been taken up to heaven, the apostles returned to Jerusalem, from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. Remember to maximize your eye contact. The mount called Olivet, of course, is the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane, which is an olive grove, sits at the western foot of the mount. Amazingly, there are trees still standing from Jesus' time that witnessed his agony in the garden. It's likely the apostles walked through it or right by it upon their return to Jerusalem. A Sabbath day's journey is about six-tenths of a mile. Sorry I'm digressing here, just trying to expand your knowledge base. Emphasize Apostles returned, Olivet and near. Insert small pauses after heaven and Jerusalem. Next we have, when they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying. Peter and John, and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James. I can't help but be reminded of the upper room in which Jesus and his apostles celebrated the Last Supper, the first Eucharist. Of course, I'm sure there were many upper rooms in Jerusalem, but the last time Luke wrote about an upper room, something universe-changing was about to happen. Luke is setting the stage for something big again. Curiously, the last three apostles each have a clarifying description of them that is identical to Luke's listing of the apostles in his gospel. See Luke 6, 15-16. Of course, the glaring absence of Judas Iscariot sets the stage for the selection of Matthias, which immediately follows this reading. Don't forget eye contact, highlight entered, upper room, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and Judas. Insert small pauses after John, Andrew, Thomas, Matthew, and Alpheus. Lastly, all these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Did I mention lots of eye contact? It's important to know that while they waited, they devoted themselves, and that's a strong word, not a lackadaisical one, with one accord to prayer. So communal prayers are the very foundation of the early church. Emphasize all these, one accord, women, and Jesus. Observation. It's interesting who gets named and who doesn't. In order of specificity, one, the eleven surviving apostles, two, Mary, three, Jesus' brothers, four, some women. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken, or just going through the motions. Because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobthecture.org and we'll see you at the Ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much.