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

Peter's letter to the churches in Asia Minor encouragers his readers, and your listeners, to persevere through their personal crosses of redemptive suffering, following Christ’s example.  Also, consider Bob’s suggestion for how to present this reading’s one particularly challenging sentence.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lecture. 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 second reading. It's the seventh Sunday of Easter, year A, a reading from the first letter of St. Peter. Beloved, rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed, you may also rejoice exultantly. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. But whoever is to made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed, but glorify God because of the name, the word of the Lord. Welcome to the seventh Sunday of Easter, y'all. This is our sixth and final visit with Saint Peter as the second reading of this Easter season, as we look forward to Pentecost next Sunday. 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 lectors make it mean anything to the congregation before us? I prefer readings that aim for the heart, because that's where an emotional connection will be made with the people in the pews. This reading is loaded with joy, but tempered soberly by the acknowledgement of the suffering Peter's readers and your listeners experience in their lives. This is the most important message, redemptive suffering, that participation in Christ's cross leads to participation in his glory, not to despair. Direct your focus to those souls before you who are experiencing suffering in their lives, be it emotional, physical, financial, mental, or relational. Nonetheless, there is one very challenging sentence in this reading. A quick minute about the historical context of this reading. It's addressed to the Gentile churches in the Roman provinces of Asia Minor, now modern day Turkey. Peter wrote it from Rome where he had been ministering starting from about the year forty two. It was composed during the year sixty four, give or take, shortly before his martyrdom at the hands of Nero. What do you learn from this reading? We begin, Beloved, rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed, you may also rejoice exultantly. Because we start with the word beloved, use a warm, loving, and conversational tone. Use eye contact to connect at the very outset. Pause briefly afterwards to let your greeting land. There are two ways to present the opening clause. Using the first option, smile with the word rejoice, and then change to a sober and serious demeanor when you finish to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ. Read straight through with no pause. The other way, which is how I read it, is to restructure the sentence differently from the way it's written. Again, smile when you say the word rejoice, but speak it as a standalone command with exuberant joy. Maintain eye contact on your listeners so that it would be beloved, followed by a small pause, not breaking eye contact, and then announcing rejoice. You're grabbing their attention and creating a little suspense, making the congregation ask themselves, why should we rejoice? Insert a full pause with continued eye contact to draw out that suspense, then continue on with a sober and serious tone, but read the balance of this clause as if it modifies what follows, rather than what precedes, which is the way it's written. Pick whichever option feels most natural to you. Regardless of which one you choose, emphasize beloved, rejoice, glory, revealed, and rejoice exultantly. Have a small pause after beloved, and if you choose the second option, a full pause after rejoice. There are two options for so that when his glory is revealed, you read it straight through, or with a very small pause after glory. Again, choose whichever one feels more authentic for you. For both choices, insert a small pause after revealed. Pivot from the serious and sober tone and smile broadly when you say, You may also rejoice exultantly. If you can do so authentically, insert a throat tremble when you say rejoice exultantly. Note the use of the word also, also as a reference to rejoicing exultantly with Christ upon our own achievement of eternal life. Next is, if you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. The language here mirrors the Beatitudes. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. See Matthew 5, 11 to 12. Reconstruct if you are insulted for the name of Christ, into a question, with what follows as the answer to that question. Highlight insulted, Christ, blessed, the second you and the third you. Insert small pauses after Christ and the second you and very small pauses after glory and God. Have a big smile and eye contact from blessed to the end of this sentence, making your congregation know this reading is about them. Next we have, but let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. An intriguer is someone who pries into other people's business, and of course, an evildoer encompasses every other sin not otherwise included in Peter's list. This is the challenging sentence mentioned earlier. What Peter is really saying is, don't be a murderer, thief, evildoer, or intriguer. But it's written to say, don't suffer for being one of these. He's contrasting redemptive suffering, suffering for doing good, versus just and consequential suffering, which is suffering for doing evil. I don't know a better way to proclaim this sentence than to minimize eye contact with the congregation and get through it as quickly as possible, with as little attention as possible. You might also move on to the next sentence as quickly as you can, with no pause, so your listeners don't have time to think about what they just heard. If you have a better idea, God bless you, and email your suggestion to me at info at bobthector.org. Quick sidebar. For my fellow grammar geeks, isn't the second as, the one after or unnecessary? Okay. Enough distraction, back to work. We finish with, but whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed, but glorify God because of the name. Rephrase, but whoever is made to suffer as a Christian as a question, with the balance of the sentence as your answer. Use a sober and serious expression for the first clause. But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed. Then with a knowing smile and eye contact, finish with, but glorify God because of the name. If you can do so authentically, add a throat tremble when you say glorify God, finish the reading because of the name with a sacred almost whisper. Continuing joyful, knowing eye contact with your congregation. Make sure you're close enough to the microphone so the congregation will be able to hear your hushed tone. Stress Christian, not, ashamed, and glorify God. Insert small pauses after Christian, ashamed, and God, and a very small pause after not. 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 bobthelecture.org and we'll see you at theAMBO. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much.