First Reading (Acts 3:1-10)
Reading of the Acts of the Apostles.
In those days, Peter and John went up to the Temple for the three o’clock prayer in the afternoon. Then they brought a man, lame from birth, whom they used to place every day at the door of the Temple, called Beautiful, so that he could ask alms from those who entered. When he saw Peter and John entering the Temple, the man asked for alms. They both looked at him and Pedro said: “Look at us!” The man looked at them, hoping to receive something. Peter then said to him, “I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk!” And taking his right hand, Peter lifted him up. Immediately, the man’s feet and ankles became firm. Then he jumped up, stood up and started walking. And he entered the Temple together with Peter and John, walking, jumping and praising God. The whole people saw the man walking and praising God. And they recognized that it was he who asked for alms, sitting at the beautiful door of the Temple. And they were amazed and amazed at what had happened to him.
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (Luke 24,13-35)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke.
— Glory to you, Lord.
That same day, the first of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, eleven kilometers from Jerusalem. They talked about all the things that had happened. While they were talking and arguing, Jesus himself approached and began to walk with them. The disciples, however, were as if blind, and did not recognize him. Then Jesus asked, “What are you talking about along the way?” They stopped, with sad faces, and one of them, named Cleophas, said to him: “Are you the only pilgrim in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there in these last days?” He asked, “What is it?” The disciples replied, “What happened to Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word, before God and before all the people. Our high priests and our leaders handed him over to be put to death and crucified him. We hoped that he would free Israel, but despite all this, it has been three days since all these things happened! It is true that some women in our group gave us a fright. They went to the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body. Then they came back, saying that they had seen angels and that they affirmed that Jesus is alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found things as the women had said to him, but no one saw him.” Then Jesus said to them: “How unintelligent you are and how slow to believe everything the prophets have spoken! Shouldn’t Christ have suffered all this to enter his glory?” And, starting with Moses and going through the Prophets, he explained to his disciples all the passages of Scripture that spoke about him. When they arrived near the village where they were going, Jesus pretended to go further. But they insisted on Jesus, saying: “Stay with us, for it is already late and the night is coming!” Jesus came in to be with them. When he sat at the table with them, he took bread, blessed it, broke it and distributed it to them. At this the disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. Jesus, however, disappeared from their sight. Then one said to the other, “Didn’t our hearts burn when he spoke to us on the way and explained the Scriptures to us?” At that same time they got up and returned to Jerusalem, where they found the Eleven gathered with the others. And they confirmed: “Truly, the Lord has risen and appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Imagine for a moment that you are sitting on the side of a path. Every day, for years on end, you find yourself in the same place, watching people pass by, stretching out your hand in supplication. The world around you is in constant motion, but you remain motionless, trapped in your condition, resigned to your fate. This is the reality of the man we meet in today’s first reading, the lame man sitting at the door of the Temple called Beautiful.
Now, imagine yourself in another scene. You are walking down a road, head down, heart heavy. The dreams you cherished were crushed, the hopes you had dissipated like mist in the sun. You are moving, yes, but it is a purposeless movement, a walking that seems to take you only further away from joy and hope. This is the journey of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, in our Gospel today.
Two stories, two paths, the same need: a transformative encounter with the Resurrected Christ.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we see Peter and John going up to the Temple to pray. They find a man lame from birth, who every day was carried to the door of the Temple to beg for alms. Imagine the monotony of this existence – day after day, year after year, always in the same place, always making the same request, always dependent on the charity of others.
This man didn’t ask for much. A coin, perhaps, enough to survive another day. When he saw Peter and John, he extended his hand as usual, hoping to receive some money. But Peter said, “I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk!”
What an extraordinary moment! In an instant, this man’s life was completely transformed. He who had never taken a single step in his entire life now not only walked, but jumped and praised God! The people who saw him were astonished, hardly able to believe that he was the same man who sat at the door of the Temple every day.
This healing was not just physical. It was a complete restoration – of dignity, of purpose, of participation in the community. The man who had previously been on the sidelines, literally sitting at the door of the Temple, now entered “with them into the Temple, walking and leaping and praising God.” From passive spectator to active participant, from beggar to worshiper.
Now, let us turn our attention to the Gospel. Two disciples walk to Emmaus, a small village about 7 miles from Jerusalem. The text tells us that they talked about everything that had happened – the crucifixion of Jesus, the disconcerting news of an empty tomb, reports of visions of angels. Their faces are sad, their hearts heavy with disappointment and confusion.
It is at this moment that Jesus approaches and walks with them, but “their eyes were prevented from recognizing him”. What mysterious spiritual blindness! Jesus himself is there, at their side, but they cannot see him.
How often does this happen in our own lives? How many times is Jesus walking alongside us, speaking to us through the events of our lives, through the people we meet, through His Word, and yet we don’t recognize Him? We are so absorbed in our worries, so fixed in our expectations, that we do not notice the divine presence that accompanies us.
Jesus asks the disciples what they are talking about, and they recount recent events, concluding with a telling phrase: “We hoped that it would be he who would redeem Israel.” We waited. Past tense. Their hopes were in the past, buried with Jesus in the tomb.
It is then that Jesus does something extraordinary. He doesn’t reveal himself immediately. Instead, he begins to explain the Scriptures, showing how everything that happened was in accordance with God’s plan. “And beginning with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them what was said about him in all the Scriptures.”
Imagine this outdoor theology class! The author of the Scriptures himself interpreting them, revealing their deepest meaning, weaving the scattered threads of salvation history into a single, glorious tapestry. No wonder the disciples would later say, “Didn’t our hearts burn when he spoke to us along the way and explained the Scriptures to us?”
When they arrive at Emmaus, Jesus makes to move on, but the disciples insist: “Stay with us, for it is already late and the day is waning.” Jesus accepts the invitation and it is at the table, when sharing the bread, that their eyes finally open and they recognize him. At the same moment, Jesus disappears from their sight.
The disciples don’t waste time. Even though it is night, they get up and return to Jerusalem to share the news with others. Those who were walking away from Jerusalem, crestfallen and discouraged, now return with hurried steps, burning hearts and radiant faces. They were transformed by the encounter with the Resurrected One.
Two stories, two transformative encounters. The lame man who now walks and jumps, praising God. The disillusioned disciples who now run back to Jerusalem, full of joy and renewed hope. In both cases, we see a complete transformation – physical, emotional, spiritual.
And what do these stories tell us today? They remind us that, regardless of our current condition – whether physical or spiritual paralysis, disillusionment or despair – an encounter with the Resurrected Christ has the power to transform us completely.
Like the lame man, many of us are sitting by the wayside, asking so little from life, resigned to our limited condition. Maybe we are trapped by addictions, by toxic relationships, by negative thought patterns, by paralyzing fears. Day after day, we stand in the same place, watching life go by, reaching out for crumbs when a feast awaits us.
To these, Peter and John would say today: “I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk!” The power of Jesus’ name still works miracles today. Still raises the fallen, still heals the sick, still restores shattered lives.
Or perhaps we are like the disciples of Emmaus – moving, yes, but in the wrong direction, carrying the weight of disillusionment, unable to see that Jesus himself walks alongside us. Perhaps we are so fixated on our own frustrated expectations that we fail to recognize God’s movements in our lives.
For these, Jesus would do today what he did with the disciples – walk with us, open the Scriptures to us, reveal himself in the sharing of bread. He would turn our disillusionment into hope, our sadness into joy, our setbacks into progress.
What these stories have in common is that in both, transformation came through a personal encounter with the power of the Resurrected Christ. It was not through their own efforts that the lame man got up and walked, nor was it through their own wisdom that the disciples regained hope. It was the power of Christ working in and through them.
And this same power is available to us today. In the Eucharist that we celebrate, Christ reveals himself to us in the sharing of bread, just as he did with the disciples at Emmaus. In the Word of God that we proclaim, Christ speaks to us, just as he spoke to the disciples along the way. In the community of faith we form, the power of the Resurrected Christ operates, just as it operated through Peter and John.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, what condition do you find yourself in today? Are you paralyzed, sitting on the side of the way, settling for less than God wants for you? Or is it moving, but in the wrong direction, carrying the weight of disillusionment and confusion? Regardless of your answer, know that an encounter with the Resurrected Christ has the power to transform your reality.
May we, like the healed man, enter the temple “walking, leaping and praising God.” May we, like the disciples of Emmaus, recognize Christ in the sharing of bread and run to share the good news with others. And may the power of the Resurrected Christ continue to work in and through us, transforming not only our lives, but the world around us.
May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
