Visual Resources for the Lectionaries

This post offers visual resources for the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary for May 10, 2026. Use this chart for quick links to the texts and the resource pages on cartoonistbible.com.

Easter 6

CLICK HERE to jump to the Narrative Lectionary Resources

Revised Common Lectionary Resources

Gospel Reading – John 14:15-21

This image is from page 16 in A Cartoonist’s Guide to John

Food for Thought

Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you. That seems to be the theme for the readings this week. Paul is dragged onto Mars Hill and asked to tell the philosophers about this god he has been proclaiming in the marketplace. The Psalmist gives the reason why God should be worshipped. Peter tells his people to always be ready to give an apologia (the Greek word meaning legal defense, or argument for why something is true). Jesus reassures his disciples that the Holy Spirit will be with them, serving as an advocate for them. When they are dragged before the court, the Spirit will tell them what to say.

All of these texts operate under a similar assumption. Your proclamation that Jesus is Lord, and your desire to be Jesus’ disciple, is counter-cultural and seen as disruptive to the status quo. The Romans declared that Caesar is Lord. He demanded allegiance to him before other gods. To speak of Jesus as Lord was treason in that context and punishable by death.

Many contexts around the world are similar to what Christians faced in the Roman Empire. There is severe persecution being brought against Jesus’ disciples today. Peter’s words speak directly to those contexts. Full stop.

I live in the USA and have the privilege of being a white male. I am not being persecuted for my faith. The irony of my context is that many American Christians desire to persecute others for their different faith, or supposed lack of faith. This is the reversal of the Gospel message.

Through my lens, the part of Peter’s words that speak loudest to me are when he told his people to make their defense with gentleness and reverence. The Greek words can also be translated as meekness and fear. Meekness is the same word Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Blessed are the meek.” Peter said in the previous sentence, “Do not fear what they fear and don’t be intimidated.”

Our social media driven society feeds on angry people shouting at each other. The current economic machine seems to be driven by fear and sensationalism. Disciples of Jesus must resist these cultural tides. We are called to walk and dance to a different rhythm.

No matter what context you find yourself in, our hope is found in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our baptismal identity reminds us of this. No matter how much the world system may seek to intimidate us and pressure us into being hateful, violent, and vengeful, we can trust in the example of Jesus. He suffered the violence of wrongful execution and misunderstanding. He forgave his offenders. He rose from the dead and proclaimed liberation for all people from sin and death.

This is our hope. Let us always be ready to give this reason.

Narrative Lectionary Resources

Philippians 1:1-18a

The Narrative Lectionary is done telling the story for the 2025-26 season. Now we spend three weeks in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This week is a good opportunity to review the stories of Paul in Philippi from Acts 16. Paul was called there through a vision. The church was established in Lydia’s house. The jailor and his household was baptized and added to the numbers.

Keep those people in mind when you read this beautiful passage. This text has a special place in my heart because Philippians 1:9-11 is my life verse. The image to the right is my visual translation of the text. I invite you to check out my about page where I also have an animation I created for this passage (https://www.stevethomason.net/about/)

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