Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026: May 10

Alleluia! We continue our journey through the glorious season of Easter. On May 10, 2026, we celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026. We will hear readings that speak to how the Spirit empowers Christ’s disciples to witness to all nations. We hear how Jesus prepares his followers for his departure through the promise of deep communion with God, and how faithful endurance in the face of suffering reshapes what it means to love and follow Christ.

The Apostle Paul proclaims to the philosophers of Athens that the unknown God they seek is closer than they realize and has made all nations from one ancestor. Peter encourages persecuted believers to rejoice in suffering for Christ’s name. Jesus assures his disciples that he will not leave them orphaned but will send the Spirit of truth to dwell within them. Together, these readings deepen our understanding of what it means to keep Christ’s commandments through love and to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

We invite you to join us for worship on Sunday at 9:00 AM at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Burlington, Wisconsin. Whether you gather with us in person or online, you are always welcome.

Join us for worship in the way that suits you best! You can worship with us in person, via Live Stream, Video Replay, or Podcast.

If You Cannot Join Us In Person for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026

We understand that you may not always be able to attend in person; that’s why we offer several ways to participate wherever you are.

Livestream and Video Replay

The livestream will begin shortly before the service, with organ music beginning around 8:50 AM and the service starting at 9:00 AM.

After the livestream ends, a video replay is available immediately and can be watched at any time.

Podcast

Did you know that we are available on all major platforms? Our podcast typically includes the service from the opening hymn through the Peace.

The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026

First Reading: Acts 17:22–31

22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 29 Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Psalm 66:8–20

The Epistle: 1 Peter 3:13–22

13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

The Gospel: John 14:15–21

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Reflection on the Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026

The God Who Is Nearer Than We Know

First Reading – Acts 17:22–31

Paul stands before the Areopagus, the council of philosophers in Athens, to proclaim the Christian faith to those who have never heard the gospel. His opening is brilliant: he commends his audience for their religiousness and notes their dedication to honoring various deities. However, he then directs their attention to an altar he has observed, inscribed with “To an unknown god”—a god whose identity remains unknown to them. Paul announces that he has come to reveal the very God they worship in ignorance.

Rather than beginning with Scripture (as he does when preaching to Jews), Paul appeals to creation and the human condition. The God he proclaims is not merely a tribal deity but “the God who made the world and everything in it” and is “Lord of heaven and earth.” This God does not dwell in human-made temples, nor does he need anything from human hands, for he is the source of all life and breath. Instead, God has made all nations from one ancestor and has determined the times and boundaries of human habitation—not for arbitrary reasons, but “so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him.”

The phrase is key: God has arranged creation so that humans might seek him. Paul quotes their own poets: “In him we live and move and have our being” and “For we too are his offspring.” The unknown God, whom they worship in ignorance, is not distant or inaccessible. On the contrary, God is intimately present to all people. Paul’s challenge is that they stop fashioning gods of gold, silver, and stone—images formed by human imagination—and instead turn to the God who has been present to them all along, drawing them toward knowledge of himself.

Psalm 66:8–20

This psalm celebrates God’s mighty power and the deliverance he brings to his people. God preserves our souls in life and does not allow our feet to slip. Yet this is no distant, aloof ruler. Instead, the psalmist invites all peoples to bless God and to hear the sound of his praise, for God “has attended to the voice of my prayer.”

The psalm then moves into the language of testing and trial: “You have tested us, O God; you have tried us as silver is tried.” The image is deliberate—as silver is refined in the fire to remove impurities, so God tests the faith of his people. The psalmist speaks of being brought into a net and having burdens laid upon the back, of letting people ride over their heads. These are the afflictions that test faith. Yet the conclusion is one of deliverance and relief: “But you brought us out into a place of plenty.”

The response is thanksgiving. The psalmist comes into God’s house with burnt offerings and fulfills the vows made in times of trouble. The final verses invite others to witness what God has done: “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.” The one who has been tested and refined, who has passed through fire and water, now testifies to others of God’s faithfulness.

Epistle – 1 Peter 3:13–22

Peter addresses persecuted Christian communities who are facing hostility for their faith. His opening question might seem naive in the context of persecution: “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” Yet Peter clarifies: even if suffering comes, those who suffer for doing what is right are blessed. They are not to live in fear but to sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts.

Peter then offers practical guidance: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” Notice that the Christian is to be ready to defend their faith, but not with aggression or arrogance. The defense is to be gentle and reverent—a firm but humble witness to the hope they possess.

Peter then turns to the example of Christ. Christ suffered for sins—not for his own sins (for he was righteous), but “the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” This is the foundation of Christian faith: Christ’s sacrificial death brings us into a relationship with God. He was “put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” His resurrection is the vindication of his righteousness and the breaking of death’s power.

Peter then speaks of Christ’s proclamation to “the spirits in prison”—a mysterious passage, but one that emphasizes the cosmic significance of Christ’s resurrection and exaltation. Even those held in bondage by death and evil have had the gospel proclaimed to them. And through baptism, we who believe are saved—not by the water itself, but through the appeal to God for a good conscience, grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Gospel – John 14:15–21

In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus speaks to his disciples about his imminent departure and what it will mean for them. His opening condition is simple: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love for Jesus is demonstrated through obedience—not obedience as a burden or a means of earning favor, but obedience as the natural expression of love.

Jesus then promises something extraordinary: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” The word “Advocate” (Paraclete in Greek) can also be translated as Helper, Comforter, or Counselor. This Advocate is “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.” The world cannot perceive the Spirit because the Spirit operates in the realm of faith and truth, which the world, in its rebellion against God, refuses to recognize. But the disciples know him, “because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”

Jesus then addresses their anxiety about his departure: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” Though Jesus is ascending to the Father, he will not abandon his disciples. His coming to them will be mediated through the Spirit. The resurrection is not the end of his relationship with them; it is transformed into a spiritual presence that is perhaps even more intimate.

Jesus makes a remarkable promise about the future: “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” This highlights the concept of mutual indwelling—a profound union among the Father, the Son, and the believer. Jesus concludes by revisiting the themes of love and obedience: “Those who have my commandments and keep them are the ones who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026 Reflection Wrap-Up

The readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter reveal the universal reach and intimacy of God’s presence in the world. In Acts, Paul tells the people of Athens that the God they unknowingly worship is not far from them; instead, He is the source of all life and the one in whom we live and move and have our being.

In Psalm 66, we hear the testimony of someone who has endured trials and suffering and has found that God’s faithfulness persists through it all. In First Peter, we are reminded that suffering for doing good, though challenging, marks us as blessed. Our faith is anchored in Christ’s redemptive work, and our baptism connects us to his death and resurrection.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus comforts his disciples as he prepares to leave them. He promises the Spirit of truth and assures them of his continued presence. Through the gift of the Spirit and the promise of Christ’s presence, we are called to be witnesses to all nations of the God who is not far from any one of us.

To love Christ means to follow his commandments. Following his commandments allows us to experience God’s love and the revelation of Christ himself.

Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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Join Us

Join us in person at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 216 E Chandler Blvd, Burlington, WI.

Worship begins at 9:00 AM each Sunday.

• The livestream will begin shortly before the service, with organ music beginning around 8:50 AM.
• A video replay is available immediately after the service.
• The podcast is typically available later on Sunday.

All are welcome.

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