Gospel Lectio Divina for The Third Sunday of Easter - April 23, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
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.
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them.
What a coincidence. Just the other day I was walking on a beach boardwalk, and a stranger came up to me. We started talking about life and some big questions, and some of the struggles we’ve experienced. Then he asked me, “Do you believe in God?” I chuckled because just a few hours earlier, at a Bible study I went to, I talked about how much I doubt everything the faith teaches. I talked about how much I related to Thomas in the Gospel that Sunday, and how I didn’t see a way out of my doubt. Jesus came to Thomas in his time of need to quell his doubt. I asked why God couldn’t do the same for me. Why doesn’t he do the same for countless other believers who believe without seeing? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet still believe, Jesus said in last week’s Gospel. Indeed. That statement is like another Beatitude. The other Beatitudes also talk about how we are blessed when we struggle and persevere in faith.
Was that stranger a messenger from God? There are reasons to believe he was and reasons to doubt he was. After some time I became suspicious of the stranger’s intentions. But I have found that God often speaks through other people for just a moment or two, to tell someone what they need to hear. The stranger also asked me, “Are you trying to be a good person?” I told him “No.” I was tired of that typical dialogue. I knew what he would have said if I said “Yes”: “That’s all that matters. As long as you’re trying to be a good person, God sees that and understands.” I heard that so many times before and it just doesn’t ring true anymore. When I said “No”, he said, “If we’re being honest, it’s not about trying to be a good person. Only God is good. What matters is searching for the truth. When we search for truth, we find God. When we try to be good, we just become more self-righteous.”
I was searching for truth, and that’s how I wound up walking on the Atlantic City boardwalk at 3 a.m., and that’s where Jesus walked with me.
“Stay with us”
“The wind blows where it wills, and no one knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So it is with those who are born of the spirit,” wrote John the beloved disciple. So often, I want the Holy Spirit to stay with me, but its inspiration comes just as quickly as it goes. But let these words be our prayer. “Stay with us.” Stay with us, Jesus, as we walk the road to heaven because as long as you walk with us it is as good as experiencing heaven even if we are still here on earth. This is the secret that the saints knew. We do not worship the God of the past or the future. We worship the God of the present. He does not want us to wait until we die to be with him. He wants to be with us now. He wants to stay with us, and is overjoyed when we tell him to stay. So often, I simply don’t ask the Holy Spirit to stay with me. I claim to know the experience too well. Once in a blue moon, I am inspired by the truth, goodness, and beauty of everything, and the next moment the inspiration is gone. I don’t expect it to stay, so I just accept it.
God does not want to leave us, but he respects our free will. Nothing brings him greater joy than for us to say to him, “Stay with us.” But we have to ask him to stay.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
Once the disciples recognized him, Jesus vanishes. He accomplished what he set out to accomplish: he made himself known to them. It would have been great if he stayed with them even longer, but there is a time and place for everything. If he stayed, then there would be no need for him to give them the Holy Spirit so they could be Christ to others. It would have been a perpetually reciprocal relationship requiring little to no effort from believers. If Jesus stayed on earth, he could have been everything to everyone all at once. That would have helped more people believe, but it wouldn’t have saved their souls. For our souls to be saved we have to not only believe but also let God live through us and do his will. Once we recognize Christ, we can imitate him. Once we know him, we can know what he would do in any situation.
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
I know when Jesus is speaking through someone because my heart also burns when he speaks through them. They say exactly what I need to hear. I’m sure many other people know the feeling. Words can do more than move our hearts for arbitrary or sentimental reasons. The heart not only feels, but also thinks. I enjoy certain movies and songs because of the ways they connect the dots between certain movements in my heart. We make connections in our hearts just like we make connections between thoughts in our minds. God made us to love and to desire truth. The heart and the mind do not have to be in conflict. They are both designed to seek God, and only in him will our hearts and minds find rest.
PRAY
Dear Lord,
Thank you for staying with us on our road to heaven, and thank you for giving us a piece of heaven by walking with us. Please stay with us, so we could experience this heaven every day, because the road is long and full of many different perils. I often doubt your truth when I do not invite you to walk with me, but when I do invite you everything is clear. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
LISTEN
After listening to Jesus, the disciples on the road to Emmaus finally understood the Scriptures. That can be a lesson for us, too. After reading Scripture, if we continue to talk, wonder, and ask questions about it, God will lead us to answers. I like to listen for the ways Scripture resonates through the rest of my day after reading it. I share with others any connections I see between my experiences and what I read in God’s word. This helps me to see how the Bible is the living and breathing word of God. He continues to speak to us after we read it. When we read the Scriptures, it is like nutrition for our souls that fuels us for the rest of the day.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.
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