Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

April 19, 2026

Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:13-35

That very day, the first day of the week, 

two of Jesus' disciples were going

to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,

and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,

Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,

but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

He asked them, 

"What are you discussing as you walk along?"

They stopped, looking downcast.

One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,

"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem

who does not know of the things

that have taken place there in these days?"

And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"

They said to him, 

"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,

who was a prophet mighty in deed and word

before God and all the people,

how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over

to a sentence of death and crucified him.

But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;

and besides all this,

it is now the third day since this took place.

Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:

they were at the tomb early in the morning 

and did not find his body;

they came back and reported

that they had indeed seen a vision of angels

who announced that he was alive.

Then some of those with us went to the tomb

and found things just as the women had described,

but him they did not see."

And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!

How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things

and enter into his glory?"

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

he interpreted to them what referred to him

in all the Scriptures.

As they approached the village to which they were going,

he gave the impression that he was going on farther.

But they urged him, "Stay with us,

for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."

So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,

he 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.

Then they said to each other,

"Were not our hearts burning within us

while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem

where they found gathered together

the eleven and those with them who were saying,

"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"

Then the two recounted 

what had taken place on the way

and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

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Recognizing the Messiah in Word and Eucharist

Rev. Paul Galetto, OSA.

Pastor, Saint Paul Parish + Philadelphia, Pa.

What would a person who loves the Scriptures pay to have been on the road to Emmaus and hear Jesus explain how he was the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures? This is certainly one of the greatest stories to have its origin in the Resurrection of Jesus. In addition to the mystery of Revelation, the other theological consideration here is the Eucharist.



The setting of the story is Easter day itself. Word has spread quickly about the empty tomb; however, the first witness was a woman and according to Jewish law, her report cannot be accepted. And so, there is a lingering doubt in the minds of Cleopas and his companion who may well be his wife. She is probably one of the women who was at the foot of the cross on Good Friday (Mary the wife of Clopas: John 19:25). (It is easy to corrupt a Semitic name when translating it into Greek.) Acting like a missionary couple, Cleopas and his companion do not shy away from talking about Jesus to this stranger they meet along the way.

While they should be afraid on account of the threats issued by the leaders of the Jewish people; their faith cannot be restrained or contained. They thought the Jesus they knew was the Messiah. As they walk together, Jesus makes clear how his death and resurrection were foretold and had to take place. And as would happen in an early Christian worship service, the Scriptures had been espoused and then explained and next would come the gathering around the table and the breaking of the bread.

It is in Word and Eucharist that Jesus Christ is fully revealed and realized. The bread is broken and these true disciples of Jesus are cognizant about what they have experienced and it must be proclaimed. And so, in the darkness of night, a time of danger and the unknown, they rush to Jerusalem aware of the hazards that lay before them and go to the Upper Room. There they hear the Good News, that Jesus has been raised from the dead. The Apostles must have been thrilled to hear every detail of the encounter of Cleopas and his wife and how they had come to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

The Road to Emmaus



~Angela Lawlor

Nativity of Our Lord + Warminster, Pa.

In my world as a mom, wife, and campus minister, schedules are non-negotiable. Activities, meetings, family gatherings, dinner plans, and appointments are in constant motion on a color-coded and endless calendar. Life, in many ways, has shifted to an “onto the next” mentality, preventing us from true presence and making it increasingly difficult to recognize God’s presence to us each day.

The Road to Emmaus reminds us that Jesus is ever-present on our journey, even when our attention is elsewhere. The disciples walk seven miles from Jerusalem – the site of the Passion and Resurrection – to Emmaus. Jesus joins them until they reach their destination, despite their inability to recognize Him along the way. He does not go his separate way at a pit stop or leave out of frustration after a mile. He remains, and, at their invitation to stay, “breaks open” the gift before their eyes in the breaking of the bread. Hindsight was twenty-twenty for the disciples and is for me too, more often than I like to admit. Focusing on “the next thing” can often leave us inattentive to the gifts of present and recognizing them after the moment has passed.



While this could lead to discouragement, I find hope in knowing that Jesus waits for us unceasingly, ready for our eyes to be open to his presence in our lives. I also find hope in the disciples’ response. Instead of dwelling on their shortcoming, they embrace and share the gift they received by returning to Jerusalem – to the Resurrection – to share the Good News. Jesus’ work does not end at Resurrection – it is where it begins. The Road to Emmaus challenges us to step out of the cloud of busyness so that we can be attentive to the Risen Christ in our midst. It is in these moments, like the disciples, when our hearts burn within us, and our journey changes. It is this gift of Easter joy that turns us back and compels us to run towards the Resurrection, desiring to carry that joy forth in word and deed so that others may receive it too.