Preparing for Worship - May 3, 2026

This 5th Sunday of Easter in the One Year Series, May 3, 2026, is known as Cantate Sunday. This Latin word calls us to “Sing”! We sing in praise of the Easter victory of our Lord Jesus, after he had suffered and died in our place in payment for our sins. We “sing” also in anticipation of Jesus’ promise that He and the Father would send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and to work through the Word of God to bring people to faith and keep them in faith in Christ.

The psalm is Psalm 66:1-8. All the earth is called to “shout for joy to God” and three times to “sing praises” to Him for His “awesome deeds.”The rescue of His people at the time of the exodus is described, along with the defeat of the enemies of God’s people. The psalm is prophetic, too, of a time (with the coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit) when the “sound of God’s praise is heard,” so that “the children of man” all over the earth will worship the One True God.

The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 12:1-6, is also prophetic of “that day” when “God’s anger about sin is turned away” (through the sacrifice of Christ), and God comforts people and brings them to salvation through “trust” in Him. The Lord God will be their “strength and their song,” providing “the water” of life and salvation for them. This will be a time (in Christ) when “His name is exalted” and “His deeds made known among peoples in all the earth.” This will be a time for “shouting and singing for joy,” for “the Holy One of Israel,” the Lord himself, has come into the midst of people.

In the Gospel lesson, John 16:5-15, Jesus continues to prepare His disciples for what is to come very soon. He has been with them for about three years, but now He will be going to the One who sent Him, His Heavenly Father. This brings sorrow and a lack of understanding on the part of the disciples. Here, Jesus is particularly speaking about His ascension into heaven, after His death and resurrection. He says that His going will be advantageous for the disciples, for He can then send them His Holy Spirit, who will be “the Helper” for them in the days and years ahead. The Greek word for “Helper” is “the Paraclete,” wne who will come to their side to help them. The word is also sometimes translated as the Comforter, the Counselor, the Exhorter, the One Who Prays and Asks of God on their behalf. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, and through the Word of God, He brings, He can convince and convict people of this world of the reality of sin and unbelief in their lives and the great danger they are in, if left on their own. The Spirit can also convince people of “righteousness,” not their own, but the righteousness of Jesus, the sinless Son of God, who can and will return directly to His Father in heaven at His ascension. God the Holy Spirit can also convince people of “judgment,” not their own, but the judgment of Satan, “the ruler of this sinful world,” whose power has now been broken by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Jesus had much more to teach His disciples, but they could not bear it and handle it until after He had risen from the dead. He taught them, off and on, for 40 more days and then ascended to His Father in heaven. He would still be with them always, though not in a visible way, but the Spirit of truth would then lead and guide them into all the truth that they needed, through the Word of God provided to them, through Him and the Father and the Son. Especially the Spirit would “glorify Jesus” as Lord and Savior and declare all of the saving Words and work of the Triune God. Jesus would bless the disciples with the Holy Spirit in His resurrection appearances, but especially give the Holy Spirit and His power on Pentecost and in the days and years following and continuing even today, in the Good News of Christ.

The gift and working of the Holy Spirit, predicted in the Gospel, sent from the Father and the Son, is evident in the Words of James, the brother of Jesus, now a strong believer and Apostle and leader of the Jerusalem Christian believers. James speaks and writes to his “beloved brothers” in the faith and reminds them that “every good and perfect gift” that they have as Christians has come down from the Heavenly Father, who has provided light and life through His own beloved Son, Jesus. The lights in this universe change. God is unchanging, consistent in His saving plan for us, though, bringing us forth as a new creation, through the Word of Truth, our Lord Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:1), and the Way and the Truth and the Life, through His Word and saving work (John 1:1-3, 9-13). Early believers were only “firstfruits” of those who would come to faith in Jesus and are still coming to faith to this very day. The key, James says, is to “receive with meekness the implanted Word of God, which is able to save our souls.” That is the work done by God’s Holy Spirit, from Pentecost and onward, as He brings people to faith through the Word of Christ (and the gift of baptism) and keeps them and us in that faith. The Holy Spirit also inspired the Biblical writers to write the very Words of Holy Scriptures as a witness for Christ to the world (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Through that Word, the Holy Spirit shows us our anger and sins and filthiness and wickedness and brings us to repentance and trust in the righteousness of God earned for us in Christ. May we all, James says, be quick to hear that “implanted Word of God” and slowly and surely learn more of our Savior and His Word, so that we can share it with others, too.