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‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER, 26 APRIL



John Linell, ‘Christ Appearing to the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus’, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Dear Friends
The Gospel reading for this day is Luke 24:13-35, in which the evangelist narrates how two disciples, one of whom was called Cleopas, are travelling from Jerusalem to Emmaus and unknowingly encounter the Risen Lord.  He talks to them on the way and, in response to their questions, explains to them how he is present in the Scriptures.  He makes as though to walk on as they reach their destination but, as it is evening, they eagerly invite him to stay for supper.  He breaks bread for them at the meal and, as he does so, they recognise him, although Jesus then vanishes from their sight.  They, however, filled with joy, rush back to Jerusalem to share the good news with the other disciples.

Journeys such as this relatively short one (it is approximately seven miles between Jerusalem and Emmaus), or longer ones such as the pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela (literally ‘St James of the Field of Stars’) in northern Spain, are often the settings for an inner journey of the soul in search of God – not that pilgrims think that God is ‘lost’, but that the outward, physical journey provides the context, and the impetus, for the inward, spiritual journey.  Unfortunately, with increasing mobility problems, my own pilgrimage days are over, but I shall always be glad of those I was able to undertake in the past, since the discipline and even minor hardships involved often yield unexpected insights into the way in which God meets us at our point of need.

As I have suggested many times in the past, the Emmaus narrative has an unmistakably liturgical feel to it.  Its shape reflects that of the Eucharist, beginning with an exposition of the Scriptures, followed by the ‘breaking of bread’, in which we can share in the body and blood of Christ, who is always present in our worship, although we may not always be aware of it.  In this way, as the third evangelist is suggesting here, our Eucharistic worship, too, becomes a ‘pilgrimage’ in which Christ reveals himself - and perhaps our current situation, in which we are unable to undertake this journey, except ‘virtually’, will help us rejoice all the more in this privilege, once restrictions are lifted.
In the meantime, with prayers and blessings continuing,

Fr Stephen


Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter

Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
  with the sight of the risen Lord;
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  Amen.


Acts 2:14a and 36-41

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

On the day of Pentecost,

Peter, standing with the eleven,
raised his voice and addressed the crowd,

"Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty
that God has made him both Lord and Messiah,
this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and to the other apostles,
"Brothers, what should we do?"

Peter said to them,
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
so that your sins may be forgiven;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you, for your children,
and for all who are far away,
everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."

And he testified with many other arguments
and exhorted them, saying,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

So those who welcomed his message were baptized,
and that day about three thousand persons
were added to their number.


Gospel  Luke 24:13-35

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

On that same day
two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus,
about seven miles from Jerusalem,

and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing,
Jesus himself came near and went with them,

but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them,
"What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"
They stood still, looking sad.

Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him,
"Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem
who does not know the things
that have taken place there in these days?"

He asked them, "What things?"
They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,

and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over
to be condemned to death and crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.
Yes, and besides all this,
it is now the third day since these things took place.

Moreover, some women of our group astounded us.
They were at the tomb early this morning,

and when they did not find his body there,
they came back
and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who said that he was alive.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb
 and found it just as the women had said;
but they did not see Jesus."

Then he said to them,
"Oh, how foolish you are,
and how slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have declared!

Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things
and then enter into his glory?"

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
 he interpreted to them
the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going,
he walked ahead as if he were going on.

But they urged him strongly, saying,
"Stay with us, because it is almost evening
and the day is now nearly over."
So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them,
he took bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus;
and he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he was talking to us on the road,
while he was opening the scriptures to us?"

That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem;
and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.

They were saying,
"The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!"

Then they told what had happened on the road,
and how he had been made known to them
in the breaking of the bread.