Third Sunday of Easter
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, "You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
"Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, Him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; Whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope, Because you will not leave my soul in Hades, Neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
"Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, He foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn't left in Hades, and his flesh didn't see decay. This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear.
Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you. My soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing."
The Lord assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.
I will bless the Lord, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, Neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear, Knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, But with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ, Who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, Who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. He said to them, "What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?"
One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things which have happened there in these days?"
He said to them, "What things?"
They said to him, "The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb; And when they didn't find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of us went to the tomb and found it just like the women had said, but they didn't see him."
He said to them, "Foolish people, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn't the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
They came near to the village where they were going, and he acted like he would go further.
They urged him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over."
He went in to stay with them. When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized him; then he vanished out of their sight. They said to one another, "Weren't our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?" They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, Saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus carry disappointment like a heavy stone. Their hopes for redemption have crumbled, and they're walking away from Jerusalem—away from the scene of their shattered dreams. Notice how Jesus doesn't immediately reveal himself or correct their despair. Instead, he walks alongside them, listening to their pain.
There's something profound in how recognition comes not through dramatic revelation, but in the ordinary act of breaking bread. The movement here is from confusion to clarity, from isolation to community. These disciples had heard reports of the resurrection, yet couldn't grasp its reality until Jesus made himself present in the most basic human gesture—sharing a meal.
Peter's bold proclamation in Acts shows us the other side of this story. What emerges is the confidence that comes from truly encountering the risen Christ. The same Peter who denied Jesus now stands before crowds, proclaiming that death could not hold him. This transformation doesn't happen in a vacuum—it grows from community, from shared witness, from the gradual recognition that God's presence permeates even our most ordinary moments.
The tension we face is similar to that of the Emmaus disciples. We live between the already and the not-yet, often walking through our own disappointments while the risen Christ walks beside us, unrecognized. Consider how often we expect God to meet us in extraordinary ways, yet miss the divine presence in everyday encounters—in conversations with neighbors, in shared meals, in the patient listening of a friend.
The disciples' hearts burned within them as Scripture was explained, but their eyes opened in the breaking of bread. Both Word and sacrament, both understanding and communion, work together to reveal Christ's presence.
Where might Christ be walking alongside you unrecognized? What ordinary moments today could become occasions for deeper recognition of God's presence?