Third Sunday of Easter
On the Road to Emmaus - Journeying With the Lord
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (See Second Reading)
We have been set free
in the precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
God raised him from the dead
and through him we have faith and hope.
May Jesus the Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- On the Road to Emmaus
Too often, we think we are all alone on the rocky road of life, with our struggles and discouragement, but also our joys and happiness to share. Does the Lord know? Is he there? Our Christian faith and sensitivity, as known already from the earliest times of the Church, assure us that he is present and that he walks with us the sometimes rocky road of life. He speaks to us his word of life in the Scriptures, proclaimed to us every Sunday. He is indeed our companion in life, that is, literally, he who breaks his bread for us, as he did for his disciples at the Last Supper and on the pilgrim road of Emmaus.
- Journeying with the Lord
When we are sad as we travel, or bored or discouraged or all alone, the journey seems to last much longer. But let someone join us on the road, a friend or even a stranger who gives us courage and joy again, the journey becomes lighter and interesting and our hearts are lifted up. The road of life is like this. At times it is hard and tiring, but it becomes easy and joyful when we know that the Lord journeys with us and warms our hearts. Today and every day, Jesus wants to be our companion on the road of life.
Penitential Act
We are often too full of ourselves and our cares
to recognise the Lord among us.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you are one of us;
you walk with us on the road of life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you speak to us
your Good News that clarifies
our joys and our pains and our life:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you break for us
your tasty, life-giving bread:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us aware how much you are with us
and be our companion to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
that Jesus may be our companion
on the road of life
(pause)
God our Father,
Our road in life is often tiresome
for it is the road of pilgrims.
Give us Jesus your Son
as our companion who journeys with us
and who warms our hearts with love and joy.
Let him keep breaking for us
the bread of himself that gives us courage.
Open our eyes to recognise him
in our downhearted and suffering brothers and sisters,
that they may see in us
something of our faith that our Lord is risen
and that he lives forever and ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading
The Lord Is Risen and Alive!: Note that in the revised Lectionary, the first reading has been lengthened. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaims on Pentecost the core of the Christian message: Christ was put to death, but he is alive as our Risen Lord. This is the foundation of our faith. This is why he can be with us now.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
You who are Israelites, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
"My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father
and poured him forth, as you see and hear."
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (11a) Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Second Reading
The Risen Lord Is the Foundation of Our Hope: Peter encourages the faithful: God is our Father; he sent his Son to save us by his death and resurrection. This is the meaning of our lives; this is the foundation of our faith and hope.
You call upon a Father who shows no favoritism but judges each person based on their deeds; therefore, take seriously the time you spend in a foreign land.
Remember that you were freed from the empty way of life handed down from your ancestors, not with gold or silver,
but with the precious blood of Christ, the spotless and pure Lamb.
He was destined before creating the world, but was revealed to you in these last days.
Through him, you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him so that your faith and hope may be in God alone.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us;
make our hearts burn while you speak to us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
They Recognised Him at the Breaking of Bread: Luke uses the occasion of the discouragement of two disciples and their encounter with Christ to tell us this: the Risen Lord lives on among his faithful by the words he speaks to us and in the Eucharist.
That same day, two followers of Jesus were heading to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem
and they were talking to each other about everything that had happened.
but they didn’t recognize him.
While they discussed these things, Jesus himself approached and started walking with them,
He asked:
“What exactly are you talking about?”
The two stood still, looking sad.
Then the one named Cleophas responded:
“Why, it seems you are the only traveler to Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened there these past few days.”
And he asked:
“What is it?”
They replied:
“It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, you know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people.
But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced him to death. They handed him over to be crucified.
We had hoped that he would redeem Israel. It has now been three days since all this happened.
Also, some women from our group caused us trouble. When they went to the tomb at dawn,
they did not find his body; and they told us they had seen a vision of angels, who said that Jesus was alive.
Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had described, but they did not find a body in the tomb.”
He said to them:
“How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand?
Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this and then enter his glory?”
Then, beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained to them everything in the Scriptures that concerned himself.
As they approached the village they were heading for, Jesus appeared to go farther.
But they insisted:
“Stay with us, for night falls quickly. The day is almost done.”
So he went in to stay with them.
When they sat at the table, he took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and shared it with them.
Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
And they said to one another:
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?”
They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together.
They were greeted with these words:
“Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted what had happened on the road to Emmaus and how Jesus revealed himself when he broke bread with them.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to Jesus, our brother, that we may be more aware how much he walks with us on the road of life, and let us say: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
– Lord Jesus, journey with your Church on the roads of peace and love
that leads us to one another and to our destiny of lasting joy, we pray: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
– Lord Jesus, journey with the Churches that claim you as their Lord;
Lead them to one another that you may be their one Lord and shepherd, we pray: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
– Lord Jesus, journey with our country. Inspire our leaders with your Spirit
that they may be people of integrity who care about their people and their needs, we pray: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
– Lord Jesus, journey with all who suffer. Lighten their burdens and pains,
for you experienced how heavy a cross can be, and help us to lift up people from their miseries, we pray: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
– Lord Jesus, journey with our communities, that we may accept and love one another so that it becomes evident to all that you live among us, we pray: R/ Lord Jesus, journey with us.
Thank you, Lord, for staying with us. Warm the hearts of all of us with your kind words and your lasting friendship, for you are our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, loving Father,
here are bread and wine,
simple signs in which your Son walks with us
on the dusty road of life.
Let him set our hearts afire
when he shares himself with us
and speaks to us words
that make life worth living.
Let him be our food on the road to you
and on the road to people,
for we believe that he is our Risen Lord
who stays with us now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
The deepest way in which we can now encounter Jesus our Lord is in the signs of bread and wine of the Eucharistic celebration. There he is our food for the road. With joy we give thanks to the Father.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
With Jesus, we pray to God our Father
to give us not only our daily food
but the bread of the Eucharist. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and give us always the peace and joy
of your presence among us.
Keep us free from doubt and discouragement
and let your Son walk by our side
that together with him,
we may build up among us
his new world of friendship and hope,
and so prepare the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Prayer after Communion
Our living God,
Your Son Jesus has spoken to us
warm words of encouragement and hope.
At his table he has nourished us
with the fresh bread of himself
to sustain us on our pilgrim way
to you and to one another.
Let the food of his word and body
keep us united in one faith,
one love, one common concern
for all that is right and good.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We have encountered our Risen Lord:
he spoke to us his word of life
and broke his bread for us.
May we speak to one another
his word that sets hearts afire with hope.
May we be his bread that nourishes
everyone around us.
Take with you the blessings of almighty God:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
to love and serve the Lord in one another.
R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTION:
Luke 24: 13-35
On the road to Emmaus
It is the month of April in the year 30 A.D. Two disciples of Jesus who lost all their hope with the killing of Jesus their teacher and prophet, are on their way back to Emmaus, a village twenty miles away from Jerusalem. Luke’s Gospel says Emmaus was just seven miles from Jerusalem, which is a mistake. This episode alsoraises in us a number of questions: Why couldn’t the disciples recognize Jesus during their whole day’s journey and conversation? The text says that their eyes were kept from recognizing him – a kind of blindness!
It indicates that the Risen Christ had something different in his appearance, that Mary Magdalene, Peter and other apostles could not recognise him when they first met him after the resurrection. Because, resurrection from death does not mean going back to one’s previous life, but entering the World of God.
We must also pay attention to the sentence describing Jesus at table with thedisciples: “When he was at table with them, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them” – Luke explicitly recreates the celebration of the Eucharist. While they were still on the road, Jesus presided over the liturgy of the Word: “beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them in all the Scriptures” what was written about the Messiah [v. 27]. And later at the Breaking of the Bread, they recognise the Lord.
Luke wrote the Gospel around the years 80-90 A.D. Almost all the witnesses to the Risen Lord are by now dead. The rabbis taught that the Messiah would live a thousand years. They expected a glorious Messiah, a mighty and triumphant king.But, Jesus instead was defeated and killed. Their dreams are collapsed, and their plans have failed.
It is the story of the Christian communities of Luke. They are persecuted, victims of abuse. They see the victory of the evil; the wicked are better off than the pure in heart. They find themselves in the same state of mind as the disciples traveling to Emmaus. Many Christians behaved that way in the face of difficulties and persecution: some abandoned their communities; others refused the answers that came from faith.
It is our own story. We, too, are like the two disciples to Emmaus. We know well what Jesus did and taught. But this knowledge is incomplete. Without faith in the resurrection, our defeats are defeats, and life ends with death, a senseless tragedy.
An important element of this passage: the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as soon as they recognise the Lord, they rush to announce their discovery to their brothers and sisters and with them proclaim their faith: ‘The Lord is truly risen ....’