Third Sunday of Easter: April 23, 2023

 THE ROAD TO EMMAUS : A JOURNEY FROM DESPAIR TO JOY

First Reading: Acts 2: 14 and 22-28

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1: 17-21

Gospel Reading: Luke 24: 13-35

   *First reading is from the Acts of the Apostles. A section of the sermon preached by St. Peter on Pentecost day is narrated. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter fearlessly and boldly proclaims that the crucified and risen Christ is indeed the promised Messiah. He affirms that Jesus is the Lord of the whole universe. Hence the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead is the core essence of the good news. 

   *Second reading is from the first letter of St. Peter. Peter explains to the early Christian community and to us that Jesus redeemed us by shedding His own blood on the cross. He urges us to have a strong faith and hope in the risen Lord. He encourages us to respond with a life of holiness. 

The two disciples recognize the Lord in the breaking of the bread                                        Today's Gospel reading is from St. Luke. The story of the two disciples who traveled to Emmaus on Easter Sunday evening is narrated in great details. Their lives and dreams are shattered with the cruel crucifixion and death of Jesus. On their way to Emmaus, the risen Lord joins them and explains to them why it was necessary for Him to die and to enter into glory. In the Gospel story, Emmaus becomes a place of transformation when the two recognized the Lord at the breaking of the bread. But this recognition of the Lord could happen only because they opened their hearts to the stranger with confidence, love and hospitality and with an invitation: "Stay with us." Taking the stranger to their home and even sharing their meal with Him becomes the Eucharistic table. When He blesses and breaks the bread with them, their eyes are opened. When we allow others to have a place in our hearts, the risen Lord becomes real in our lives. We too become like the two disciples who returned from Emmaus, full of joy and hope. Emmaus story is the story of our own lives. 1. The risen Lord walks with us as a stranger when we are in deep pain and in distress. 2. The risen Lord explains to us the meaning of our sufferings through the Word of God and encourages us. 3. He reveals Himself to us through the breaking of the bread: At the Eucharistic table. When Jesus broke bread with the two disciples at Emmaus, He used the same words that He used at the Last Supper.

"The one who came and walked with them, the one who talked with them and disclosed Himself to them, preparing them to encounter Him as their Risen Lord, is the one who now opens their eyes to see Him in the breaking of the bread." - M.P. Souza

"It began as an encounter. Some people came into contact with Jesus of Nazareth and what took place in the life of Jesus and in connection with his death, gave their personal lives new meaning and new significance. They felt that they had been born again, that they had understood and this new identity found expression in a similar solidarity toward others, their fellowmen." - E. Schillebeeckx (on Emmaus experience)