Homily on the 3rd Sunday of Easter; 19 April 2026, Maryville Chapel, Talamban
On this Third Sunday of Easter, we gather once again to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection and with him also the resurrection of the Church. The Sunday liturgy in fact had been designed to sustain this great joy in our hearts by presenting to us the various appearances of the Risen Lord to his disciples against the background of their deep sorrow and distress.
Today’s gospel passage from St Luke (24:13 – 35) presents to us the appearance of Jesus to two disciples who were walking towards Emmaus that afternoon on the same day he rose from the dead. Earlier in the morning, while they were still stuck in Jerusalem, they have heard the reports of those who had seen Jesus’ tomb empty, and his body missing. They just could not understand everything that had been happening.
These two disciples could not even accept yet that Jesus, their Lord, to whom they have put all their hopes as the long awaited Messiah, had already died – nailed on the cross. Hence, how are they to believe that this same Jesus could resurrect from the dead, as some women disciples had told them? The unbearable sorrow and distress that the two disciples had been carrying since Good Friday must have been heightened or aggravated by the sad and puzzling news that Jesus’ mortal remains had been missing and they could only surmise that it had been stolen away and could not be recovered.
So, perhaps this could explain why they were leaving Jerusalem. And as they were walking down the road to Emmaus, they looked downcast, discouraged, disillusioned, and almost in despair. And then, all of a sudden, Jesus showed up without them recognizing him. He walked along with them and joined their conversation. He tried to revive their hopes, as he “broke the Word of God” for them. All along the way, he tried to explain for them the Scripture passage pertaining to the Messiah until they reached Emmaus.
Then, at sundown when he sat at the dinner table with them, he led the blessing prayer and then “broke the bread.” At that very moment, they finally recognized him to be Jesus, their Lord who had been crucified. But as soon as they recognized Jesus, he suddenly vanished from their sight.
We can imagine their “Aha moment” and the sudden surge of joy in their hearts upon realizing that all the while, in their sorrow, distress and confusion, Jesus had been with them, personally conversing with them. He was neither dead, nor was his body missing, but he was fully alive. Jesus was in their midst as the Risen Lord.
We therefore give thanks to God that the same Jesus is so much alive in our midst even today and is really present among us both in the Breaking of the Word and in the Breaking of the Bread. This two-fold gesture is done by the Catholic Church every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. As we all know our Sunday worship always consists of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This makes the Protestants so different from us, although we still consider them as our brothers in the faith. While they do have the Breaking of the Word of God during their day of worship, they unfortunately had not kept the Christian tradition of the Breaking of the Bread as shown clearly in chapter 24 of Luke’s version of the gospel.
In other words, what we Catholics do in church every Sunday is so faithful to the Gospel of Christ. It is a weekly reliving of the story of Emmaus, the story of two disciples, grieving over the loss of hope, and the story of Jesus walking along with them to revive and rekindle their hope.
Let me ask you. Don’t you sometimes feel very sad even on a Sunday? And you don’t feel like going to church. Your heart is heavy; your mind is filled with anxiety, worry, and distress. All you can see before you are enormous problems, trials and frustrations, and at times you feel like you do not want to wake up anymore. You have just lost a loved one, or your house got burnt, or you have been scammed after investing thousands or millions; or maybe you have failed an important exam, or have been a victim of violence or manipulation, or have been diagnosed to have a terminal illness.
In the global scene, are we not anxious and distressed about the escalating war in the Middle East? Are we not tired and frustrated about the blatant corruption of our country’s leaders, and the corrupt politicians who could win in the 2028 national elections?
The Good News is that the Lord knows what we are going through. And that is why he gives us this opportunity to gather together as his disciples every Sunday so that we may feel his consoling, enlightening and empowering presence. Here in our Sunday Mass, we recognize him and feel his presence both in the Breaking of the Word and in the Breaking of the Bread.
There is great hope despite every trial the world is facing. Just look at what our beloved Pope Leo XIV as the successor of St Peter has been trying to do, especially in these trying times. He has been calling all leaders of nations to put an end to the war in Iran and return to the negotiating table to peacefully resolve the issues at hand through dialogue.
And despite the possible threats on his life, our good and courageous Pope continues to stand on the side of peace in view of protecting so many innocent lives in danger of being killed if the war continues. Amazingly, his choice to be on the side of the Risen Lord, who came to bring the world true peace, has been inspiring many people, Catholics, non-Catholics and non-Christians alike, to rally behind him, despite being opposed and insulted by the US President.
And so, we pray that through this Eucharistic encounter with Jesus, all our doubts, distress and confusion in life may soon vanish away. And empowered by the Spirit of the same Risen Lord, may we, like the two disciples at Emmaus, rise up and become joyful bearers of the good news to those who have lost their faith and hope in the living God. GiGsss!
Post Scriptum:
Let me add this true-to-life sharing. Around 25 years ago I was assigned to celebrate Sunday Masses in a public drug rehabilitation facility in Bicutan. Initially I felt nervous and anxious about this new ministry entrusted to me, as I was imagining what could possibly happen while I would be celebrating Mass in the covered court filled with more than a thousand patients formerly drug users and pushers. But as soon as the assembly started singing the entrance hymn my heartbeat shifted from nervousness to excitement. All of them were singing at the top of their voices accompanied by a music ministry consisting of professional musicians and vocalists. Their active participation at Mass from beginning up to the end exceeded all my expectations. Suddenly my fear was overcome by their faith.
Those were people who never went to Mass or read the Bible all their life. But when they were forced by the circumstances to be present at the 6am Mass every Sunday, they began to experience the beauty of a real and life-changing encounter with the Lord. In fact during my one-on-one talk with those persons deprived of their liberty or PDL many of them would tell me how much anger they initially had against family members who forcibly put them there for rehab. However, after several weeks of attending Sunday Masses, Bible Study sessions and most of all, after being forgiven of their sins in confession, they began to feel more thankful, calm and at peace. And as their hope for a better life and a brighter future was being rekindled, they became more willing to cooperate and to do all that was needed for their full recovery. This experience made me realize how powerful and transformative the encounters with the Risen Lord could be, both in the Breaking of the Word and in the Breaking of the Bread.