Sunday Readings
April 6, 2008 :: Third Sunday of Easter
Scripture
ACTS 2:14, 22 — 28
Peter, filled with the Spirit, preaches that Jesus was raised up.
1 PETER 1:17 — 21
Jesus was like the sacrificial lamb who died for us.
LUKE 24:13 — 35
Jesus meets two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
THEME
Two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus when Jesus joined them.. They told him all about their leader who had been crucified, but they did not recognize Jesus until later that evening when he was breaking bread. Then Jesus vanished. His disciples were beginning to understand that he was the sacrificial lamb who had been raised up.
FOCUSING OBJECT
A loaf of bread
REFLECTIONS
The two disciples did not recognize Jesus. But as they walked and talked with him, and listened to him explain the events of the Crucifixion in light of the Scriptures, their hearts began to burn within them.
• Has your heart ever burned within you as you recalled something you said or did? What happened?
• This story has four parts: they meet; they share stories and listen; they break bread; and they part, knowing they will see one another again. Does this sound like what you often do with your friends? How is it similar?
• Do these four movements sound like the Mass? Where is the similarity?
CLOSING
When our day comes to a close,
and we pause to break bread together
as the disciples on the road to Emmaus,
May our eyes be opened.
In this common act of sharing,
May we see the Risen Lord in one another.
May we see the Lord of Life in our food,
our conversation,
and our lives shared in common.
May the peace, and the love and the blessing of God aways rest upon our table.
Alleluia! Amen!
For complete Sunday reading go to http://www.usccb.org/nab/
In Touch With the Word: Lectionary-Based Prayer Reflections, by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart (Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 2004).
Copyright © 2004 by Saint Mary’s Press, www.smp.org.
All rights reserved. Used with permission of the publisher.