[RCL] Acts 2:14a,36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35 When strange things happen, what do you do? When hard things happen, to whom do you turn? There is so much in the world and in the human experience that is confusing, troubling, or concerning, and we each have different tools and habits to…

[RCL]: Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35 We find ourselves in the middle of this Easter season, now on the third Sunday after the Resurrection, and we have a beautiful narrative of how new life breaks into the midst of shattered hopes. Today, we are transported back to Easter evening…

The walk to Emmaus is a lovely story, filled with nostalgia and pathos, and graced with details. It has attracted great artists because only art can do it some justice. The evangelist Luke was an artist with words, and the painters who were inspired by him have only added to the beauty of the description….

It is hard to understand how two faithful disciples of Jesus could have traveled with him, side by side, without recognizing him. Maybe disappointment blinded their eyes and their hearts to the truth. In Jerusalem, they had learned the devastating news about Jesus’ death. Despite having heard about the women and other disciples reporting that…

When we want to talk about something or someone we know truly or deeply, we often resort to the language of the heart. Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare wrote, “Go to…

“He took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.” Meals and food play an important part in the tradition of post-Resurrection stories—or narratives—found in the gospels. In one such narrative, for instance, Jesus suddenly appears among the disciples as they are huddled together in Jerusalem. After showing them the wounds on his…

Doubt and disillusionment, discouragement and despair: these are emotions that are common to all of us at some point in our lives. Loss of a job, loss of a loved one, divorce, illness, even the loss of a pet, any of these things and more can throw us into a tailspin and fill our hearts…

“Duh” has become a word that indicates that we can’t believe that people don’t get it! Perhaps the hint of ridicule associated with “Duh” means that we shouldn’t use it at vestry meetings! It’s heartening to find that even Jesus’ closest friend and associates didn’t always get it. After the Resurrection some of the disciples…

The gospel reading for the third Sunday of Easter is the story of Jesus encounter with two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. In the text the two disciples are walking down the Emmaus road after the crucifixion. As far as the disciples were concerned Jesus was dead and had left them alone…