Scripture Reflections for the Third Sunday of Easter

“Our credibility as truthful storytellers, as sharers of the Gospel, is partly dependent on the way we live our lives”

“we can’t control when Jesus comes. And there are plenty of times when we wait and wait for his arrival. But the simple knowledge that Jesus could crash our lives at any moment should give us hope. We are not forgotten. He will come and change things.”

"Today’s gospel is set in the evening of Easter Sunday. The two disciples journeying to Emmaus have now hurried back to Jerusalem and report to the community of disciples that..."

“It is important to note that once the disciples recognize Jesus their fear disappears. It is in community that we as Christians are strengthened.”

"“Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Jesus appears to his disciples after the Resurrection. They know that..."

"The scope of the appearance of the risen Jesus given in the gospel extract from Saint Luke today is very great. The full setting of his teaching was not explicitly..."

"Today's Gospel shows the first disciples having difficulties and doubts about the Resurrection. Is it real, did it really happen, or is it an illusion, are we misinterpreting the evidence?..."

"I've often wondered just what it is that people who claim to have seen ghosts actually see. Whatever ghosts actually are, they are objects of fear, and I suppose that..."

"When we became believers - we could say also for some of us, when we were invited to follow in the footsteps of St Dominic - it was not in..."

“To me this text speaks of impact of encounter with the risen Christ”

“Saint Luke is brilliant in his use of human senses and the role of women in this story which bring the whole resurrection to life”

"Luke paints a fascinating portrait of the risen Jesus in our Gospel for today. He stands in the midst of his disciples, gathering them as the new Israel; he shows..."

"One of my favorite movies is M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs.” It’s a cross between Robert Benton’s “Places in the Heart” and Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day,” and probably a couple other..."

"The common theme of today’s readings is the challenge to adjust our lives to the living presence of the risen Lord as we grow daily more aware of the presence..."

“It took time for the apostles and for all the disciples to accept the new reality, the reality that Jesus had entered into God’s glory, the one Jesus called Father, and that he was now alive and present with them with that life of God”

“There is a beauty in Christ’s Passion, His death and His Resurrection, and we undergo the same in our life”

“the Apostles were still surprised when they themselves encountered Christ. And we are like them. We have learned the basics of faith but are still surprised when we our own eyes are opened in personal experience.”

"The Easter season coincides with the “home straight” of the academic year, which means that many students in schools, colleges and universities will shortly be facing examinations. Probably at some..."

"Friends, Christ acts as an advocate for our souls through the cosmos-reorienting events of his death and Resurrection, the forging of a connection between heaven and earth. Our brother who..."

"Our readings for this third Sunday of Easter provide lessons in fundamental Christianity and a kind of master class in preaching. And notice the tension they stress between sin and..."

"Authentic Christianity does not present Jesus as a ghost, an abstraction, or a disembodied soul. It presents him as risen from the dead, glorified and resurrected at every level. This..."

"St. Peter’s impassioned sermon in the temple precincts condemned the people for killing the “author of life”, but further explains that Jesus’ resurrection means that he is forgiving the people..."

"The readings for today effect a correlation between the resurrection of Jesus and conversion. The biblical word for conversion is “metanoia” which has the sense of “going beyond the mind..."

"The risen Christ makes two basic moves: he shows his wounds and speaks a word of peace. In so doing, he reminds us of our sins and he assures us..."