April 19th, 2026
Third Sunday of Easter
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041926.cfm
Acts 2:14, 22-33 Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Are we walking toward Emmaus like Cleopas, or are we walking towards Jerusalem? The two men were walking away from Jerusalem, seven miles away, towards Emmaus. They should have been heading to Jerusalem. They had heard that the women didn’t find Jesus and that a vision of angels said He was alive; others verified what the women described, and they were still headed in the other direction! They were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel. They were sad that Jesus didn’t become the next king in Jerusalem and free them from Roman oppression. They didn’t understand Jesus’ true plan to conquer sin and death for us and for all eternity. No wonder they didn’t recognize Jesus!
In scripture, the New Jerusalem is heaven. In the book of Revelation, St. Paul describes his vision:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband … The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
Sometimes I ponder in what ways I am walking away from Jerusalem, from God, from Jesus.
I’ve heard some speak in absolutes, that everything we do either leads us closer to God or closer to Satan. I try to avoid speaking in absolutes, since, as any Star Wars fan will tell you, only a Sith speaks in absolutes. Some of my hobbies, such as napping, for example, don’t always lead me closer to either. Fishing, on the other hand, always leads me closer to God, even if I don’t catch anything. Just being out there on the water, in God’s creation, taking in God’s glory, it’s peaceful and magnificent.
I could go on all day about fishing, but how would my talking about it bring us closer to God? Some might remember the old Baltimore Catechism that instructed:
The purpose of human existence is to know, love, and serve God in this world so we can be happy with Him forever in heaven
So we have three steps, first get to know God, second we learn to love God, and finally, by that love of God we will want to serve Him.
Studying scripture helps us to know God, so that’s step one. We have all sorts of scripture study groups here; get involved with one! Open your bible and read it, study it, learn about salvation history from the beginning of Adam and Eve’s sin, where we came to need salvation, to the coming of Christ, who is our salvation! The second reading from 1 Peter sums Jesus up nicely:
He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Step two is to love God. To do that is important that we recognize Jesus who is present in the Eucharist! In today’s Gospel, Cleopas and his friend recognize Christ after He used the same four verbs used at the last supper: takes, blesses, breaks, and gives.
Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
Scripture scholars have said that this Emmaus Gospel is like the first celebration of the Mass. They were exposed to the scriptures, and Jesus gave the Homily explaining it all, and then they had the celebration of the Eucharist. They went forth, this time back to Jerusalem, where they should have been headed to begin with, to proclaim how they experienced Jesus.
That seques nicely to step three: to serve God. Once we get to know Jesus, how merciful He is, and how he gave us our salvation, we must proclaim that to our families, our neighbors, our friends, basically everyone. We can proclaim that with our words, but also in how we live. When the dismissal comes, and I say, "Go forth glorifying the Lord by your life”, I’m not just saying that for fun; it’s instruction for all of us!
St. John Christostom said it well:
So, let your life correspond to the holiness of your mission, so that God's grace may be proclaimed everywhere.
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