Each week, preparations begin on Monday for the next Sunday’s sermon. The point of departure is the entry for the Sixth Sunday of Easter in the list of texts that will be read, i.e., the lectionary. The individual texts are called pericopes. Each Sunday the lectionary identifies an Old Testament or historical reading, a psalm, a reading from the letters of the Apostles (the Epistle reading), and a reading from the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). The lectionary is designed to ensure that in the course of each year, all of the teachings of the Scripture are addressed in the readings.
I begin my preparations for writing the sermon by reading the pericopes and their context. I encourage you to follow along with me as we together prepare for the Sunday’s Divine Service, when God will come to serve us with His Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament.
Pericopes
For this week the pericopes are as follows,