3rd Sunday of Easter

by Dcn. Gary Johnson  |  04/16/2026  |  Sunday Written Reflection

The day on which our Lord rose from the dead, some of the women who had accompanied Him went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body and found the tomb empty. An angel spoke to them of Jesus’ Resurrection and then these women went to tell the disciples what they saw. Some of the disciples had doubts.

Later that day, two of those doubting disciples were traveling on foot to the town of Emmaus. As they traveled they were debating about what had happened to Jesus, and also about what these women reported to them. They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah but when they saw Him arrested, humiliated, beaten, crucified and killed, they questioned their faith in Him.

As these disciples walked along, our Lord appeared to them, but they did not recognize Him. They expressed their confusion to Him and Jesus finally 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?” That evening, Jesus broke bread with them and in that sacramental act they recognized Him before He vanished from their eyes.

We must see ourselves in these disciples. Life has ups and downs. When we strive to follow God’s will but find that things have not turned out how we expected, there is a temptation to doubt. However, doubts and discouragement come from our failure to understand God’s  plan for our lives. We must accept that God permits certain things to happen for reasons we don’t understand. He permits certain hardships to deepen our faith and trust in Him.

Reflect, today, upon these two disciples. They had the incredible privilege of spending much time with our Lord during His public ministry, seeing His miracles, and hearing His sermons. But when the Cross ensued, they doubted and despaired. Let these disciples reveal to you any ways that you fall into similar temptations. Allow our Lord to appear to you through prayer and reveal to you His perfect plan. Be open to the gift of understanding by trusting that the wisdom of God will give you trust and hope.