Between Sundays for the Week of May 4, 2026

This reflection comes from Sundays and Seasons, published by Augsburg Fortress (2026).

The words of yesterday’s gospel are most often heard during a funeral service. It is a popular choice of scripture for that occasion because the words provide wonderful assurance that the one who has died in Christ has now taken up residence in their heavenly home. The gospel begins by Jesus saying that he will prepare a place for each one of us. But as the text continues, we can see that our place is not an isolated room of our own in a giant heavenly mansion. Jesus’ words are less about a place than a relationship: our relationship with Jesus and God the Father. They tell us that in Jesus we know all we need to know about God, and just as we can have a relationship with another human person, we can also have a relationship with God that will one day be as real and obvious as are our relationships with one another. The hope of one day being with Christ fully and forever is as real as the works we are called to do in his name today.

This text allows us the opportunity to contemplate what is ultimately unknowable, yet is also a central part of our faith: what heaven will be like.

P.S. Special thanks to Pastor David Gerhardt, who preached and led worship yesterday! Listen to his sermon and view Sunday’s worship service. (The gospel reading begins around 16:40.) Share your presence with us by completing a contact form on our website! Links to previous worship videos are available on our website.

Faith Connection at Home

Below are some questions to help with Inspired Conversations at home this week. I have been sharing some places you might use these (i.e. waiting for the bus, during a car ride to practice, while you are in the drive-thru lane waiting to pick up dinner, etc.) but has your family used them in a different place or circumstance? Please let me know! Caring conversations help grow the connections between us and reflect God’s love and care in the process. The bible verse focus this week is 1 Peter 2:2-10. The questions are loosely connected to that text.

Have you ever let a person or a team down?
Who is someone you see at church that helps keep things from falling apart?
How are you a building stone in your life at school, work, home or elsewhere?
Where is the place you saw Love at work today?
Who is a building stone in your life?

Ponderings

Jesus’ reassuring words “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” from John 14, are often read at funerals and other times of grief and disorientation. Thomas and Philip respond, as many listeners may, hoping Jesus will give more clarifying details. A prayer for guidance (known in some places as “The Holden Prayer”) similarly implores: “O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord” (ELW, p. 317).