Third Sunday of Easter – Sr. Biddy Rose Tiernan, SNDdeN
April 19, 2026
Luke 24: 13-35
The Enduring Power of Easter Joy
On this third Sunday of the Easter season, it is worthwhile to pause and reflect on the current state of our Easter fervor. How strong is our Easter joy? How are we embodying the spirit of being ‘Easter people’ within our own communities and daily lives? While the world around us may not have changed dramatically since Easter Sunday—and in many ways, it may still resemble the sorrow of Good Friday—the call to live as people transformed by the Resurrection remains ever-present.
For the first disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem, the external circumstances did not change after the Resurrection. The Roman authorities and the Temple leaders remained as powerful and hostile as ever. Yet, what was truly different was the inner transformation experienced by those who encountered the Risen Jesus. Their newfound joy was so profound that they could not keep it to themselves. This inner change empowered them and is evident in the stories recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
Encountering the Risen Christ in Everyday Life
Today’s Gospel recounts the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Their experience is a reflection of how many of us might feel today—overwhelmed by the ongoing violence and turmoil in our world. We may wonder, “What can I do about all this?” Cleopas and his companion had heard reports of the Resurrection: ‘Some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared (Jesus) was alive…’. Yet, even with this news, their grief and sadness did not immediately lift.
What changed for them was not merely hearing about the Resurrection, but actually meeting and recognizing the Risen Jesus in the breaking of the bread. This moment of ‘re-membering’ brought them a deep and lasting joy.
The True Nature of Easter Joy
Theologian and podcaster Kate Bowler describes Easter as a feast of joy, but she acknowledges how difficult this joy can feel. She observes, “We wake up the next morning (after Easter) and discover that we are still carrying the same griefs, the same unanswered prayers, the same ache we carried throughout Lent. This can feel confusing. Shouldn’t we feel better? Was Easter not enough?”
Bowler reminds us that Easter joy is not the feeling that everything has been fixed. It is not simply happiness, resolution, or emotional closure. Instead, Easter joy is the ability to live in Christian anticipation and trust—patiently and imperfectly—even while we remain here in the uncertain and unfinished “long middle” of our lives.
Living Out Resurrection Joy
As we gather this Sunday to break bread together, let us pray for the deep gift of Resurrection joy—the same joy that sent Cleopas and his companion racing back to share the good news with their friends in Jerusalem. May this joy help us to bring light to our own environments, wherever we may find ourselves, and inspire us to spread Christian hope and trust to those around us.
Luke 24: 13-35
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”
And he 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?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Meet Sister Biddy Rose Tiernan, SNDdeN
