18 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
On Easter afternoon two disciples walk away from Jerusalem towards Emmaus, sad and confused. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Jesus himself comes near and walks with them, but their eyes are kept from recognising him. He listens to their sorrow, then opens the Scriptures: “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.”
As evening falls they beg him: “Stay with us, because it is almost evening.” At table “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” They had heard him in the Word; they recognise him in the breaking of the bread. Emmaus is the shape of every Holy Qurbono: first the Word that sets hearts burning, then the Bread in which we know him.
The two disciples do not wait until morning. That same hour they return to Jerusalem to tell the others: “The Lord has risen indeed.” A heart that has met the risen Lord cannot stay silent. Peter and John say the same before the council in Acts: “we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
St Paul reminds us that this is all grace: “by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Jesus walks with us on our roads of disappointment, even when we do not recognise him. He waits to be invited: “Stay with us.”
Theme: “Stay with us, Lord.”
Two disappointed disciples walk away from Jerusalem. The Risen Lord walks with them unrecognised, opens the Scriptures, and is known in the breaking of the bread. Emmaus is the shape of every Holy Qurbono: Word, Bread, Mission.
“I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am.”” Isaiah 65:1
“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24:15–16
Apply: Tell the Lord honestly about your disappointments; he is walking with you.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
“They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”” Luke 24:32
Apply: Read the Sunday Gospel at home before you come to church.
“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.” Proverbs 9:5
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” Luke 24:30–31
Apply: After Qurbono, share the joy of faith with one person at home or at work.
The Lord walks with us, speaks to us and feeds us.
Let us say each day: “Stay with us, Lord,” and run to tell others that he is risen.
Take-home resolution: Pray each evening this week: “Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening.”
Dear brothers and sisters, on Easter afternoon two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, sad and disappointed. “We had hoped that he was the one,” they say. Many of us walk such roads: disappointed with life, with the Church, with God. And then a stranger joins them.
It is Jesus, but they do not recognise him. He lets them pour out their sorrow. Then he opens the Scriptures, from Moses and all the prophets, and shows them that the Messiah had to suffer and enter his glory. Later they will say: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was opening the scriptures?”
As evening falls they invite him in: “Stay with us.” At table he takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to them, and their eyes are opened. This is exactly what happens at every Holy Qurbono: the Word sets our hearts on fire; the breaking of the bread opens our eyes. Emmaus is not just a story; it is our Sunday.
And they could not keep it to themselves. In the dark they ran back seven miles to Jerusalem to tell the others: “The Lord is risen!” Let us read the Gospel each day this week, invite Jesus into our homes, and tell someone what he has done for us. Stay with us, Lord. Amen.
Children, two friends of Jesus were walking home, very sad. A stranger walked with them and explained the Bible. Their hearts felt warm!
At supper the stranger broke the bread, and suddenly they saw: it was Jesus! Then he disappeared.
They ran all the way back to tell their friends! When the priest breaks the bread at Qurbana, Jesus is there too. Let's say: “Jesus, stay with us!”
Lord Jesus, you walked with the disciples of Emmaus and made their hearts burn as you opened the Scriptures. Walk with us on our roads, open the Word to us, make yourself known in the breaking of the bread, and stay with us, for it is evening. Amen.