One of the great French scripture scholars, Xavier Leon Dufour, wrote a book on the accounts of  Jesus’ Resurrection in the four gospels which he began by recalling how he first understood the Resurrection as a child from the stained glass window in his parish church.

Jesus was pictured in shining light coming out of the tomb,  the soldiers with hands up high in fear at the sight. It’s a common portrayal found in many of our churches.

Dufour writes of his surprise that this picture can’t be found anywhere in the gospels. The gospel accounts of the appearances of the Risen Christ are much more complex, which is one reason we read them all through Easter week, the “Long Day” of Easter.

In today’s reading,  the two Emmaus disciples returning to Jerusalem are greeted with cries, “he is risen, he had appeared to Simon.” Then they report how he appeared to them on the road, how he opened the scriptures and how they recognized him in the breaking of bread.

Then Jesus appeared to them. Luke says his appearance causes them “fear and panic”; they think he is a ghost. His appearance seems to be different than that of Lazarus who, when raised from the dead, was the same as before. The Risen Jesus is different. He doesn’t come back from the dead the same as Lazarus did. 

To assure them who is is, Jesus tells them to touch him, to eat with him. Only after he assures them does Jesus recall the scriptures that speak of a Messiah who dies and is raised from the dead. He tells them a message of forgiveness is to be preached in his name. They are witnesses of him. They’re to wait in the city for power from on high to come upon them: “The promise of the Father.”

Then Jesus takes them out to Bethany and ascends into heaven.  This all happens on Easter Sunday, according to Luke’s gospel. He ends his gospel there. After that he begins the second part, Acts of the Apostles, the story of the coming of the Spirit and the spread of the message of Jesus through his. church.

Luke’s gospel would have us recognize the Risen Jesus– we who are on the way —-   especially in the scriptures and the breaking of the bread.

Readings for the day

We celebrate Earth Day, appropriately,  during the Long Day of Easter. 

How slowly do his disciples understand the mystery of the Resurrection of Jesus ! Some at first,  like Thomas, need hard evidence he is alive. For them life ends in death.  Some, like Peter and John,  see at first only the burial cloths in the tomb and wonder if he, like Lazarus, has come back from the dead.  Most of them, like the disappointed disciples on the way to Emmaus, had limited hope in him. They saw him restoring Israel to a place among the nations. A Secular Messiah.

As he appeared to them and ate with them and spoke with them their hopes grew.  He  broke bread with them and explained the scriptures.  Go to Galilee and meet him there, they were told. At the lake, according to John’s gospel, Jesus commanded them to bring his message to a wider world. In Mark’s gospel, he gave his command from a mountain. 

Their understanding of the mystery of the Resurrection grew. “He rose from the dead, according to the scriptures.” He brings the promise of  life to generations before and generations ahead. As Lord of all ages, his message of eternal life goes out to the heavens and the earth.  

 Jesus Christ is not just a solitary man brought back to life. He is, “the image of the invisible God.” In him all things have their being. He brings the promise of life to a broken world. Not just to one, or a few, but all. Not just to one nation, or a few, but all. Not just to the human race, but to all creation.

The opening prayer for Mass today recognizes the mysteries we celebrate this Long Week of Easter as “paschal remedies”, medicine for our weakness, healing for our blindness, hope for our doubt, new understanding. We are meant to grow through them.

How like the first disciples we are in our limited understanding of the mysteries of God. Yet God expands our knowledge. Is God expanding our understanding of the Resurrection now, calling our attention to his creature, our Earth. As we reflect on the death of Pope Francis, we recognize his challenge to care from the poor and the marginalized of our world. But let’s not forget his challenge to care for the earth that he made in his great encyclical “Laudato si’ “

Earth Day belongs in the Long Day of Easter.

God give him that rest the scriptures promise a servant who had done well.

I remember his greeting four years ago, when he met Passionists taking part in their general chapter in Rome. He had come from a busy morning yet instead of going for lunch he spoke to us and greeted each of us.

He greeted about forty of us, each with the same attentiveness that he greeted me. Like Mary Magdalen, I want to cling to him as our leader and pope, but like Jesus he has to “go to the Father.”

He passes on during the long day of Easter.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/twelve-years-of-new-paths-processes-and-open-doors.html

Easter Week is an extension of Easter Day. The whole week is considered one day. Risen from the dead, Jesus made us one with him this day. We remember this week the signs of our union with him, baptism, the Eucharist and the other sacraments.  

As he did with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, Jesus walks with us and breaks bread with us. The Paschal Candle next to the scriptures are a sign his light never fails.  The water blessed for baptism on the side of the altar reminds us we have been reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. 

The water has been blessed by Christ himself, for it comes from his pierced side when the soldier’s spear pierced his heart. It was blessed at the Easter vigil  with the sign of the Cross.

This week the those newly baptized are led into the mysterious world of sacraments and saints This week St. Cyril of Jerusalem and  St. Ambrose of Milan, preaching on the sacraments, often pointed out how insignificant the signs seem to be.  Only faith reveals their power.  

We need to remember newly baptized Christians, for we received the same gift as they have. An early sermon describes the gift given to the newly baptized at Easter: 

“Remember the newly formed: children born from the life-giving font of holy Church… As they emerge from the grace-giving womb of the font, a blaze of candles burns brightly beneath the tree of faith. The Easter festival brings grace from heaven to us. Through the repeated celebration of the sacred mysteries we receive the spiritual nourishment of the sacraments. We worship  the one God, adoring the triple name of his essential holiness, and together with the prophet sing the psalm which belongs to this yearly festival: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. 

And what is this day? It is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the author of light, who brings the sunrise and the beginning of life, saying of himself: I am the light of day; whoever walks in daylight does not stumble. That is to say, whoever follows Christ in all things will come by this path to the throne of eternal light.” (Office of Readings, Wednesday of Easter Week.)

For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

The mysteries we celebrate in the Triduum from Holy Thursday evening till Easter Sunday are not separate from one another.   The Eucharist, the Passion and Death of Jesus, his Resurrection are joined together.  We”re meant to consider them together,  They are the Paschal Mystery. 

We cannot consider, for example,  the Eucharist only as a sacrament in which we adore Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He gives himself to us in this sacrament as a Servant, whose blood is poured out for us. He is the Lamb of God who gives us life for the journey God calls us to make.

Like his people in Egypt, we are to stand ready for the passage we are to make. He will be our food. He will wash our feet to make them clean and strong for the way, He is our Bread, our Manna. Our Companion on the journey.

The Passion of Christ is not only a dramatic story of the sufferings Jesus Christ endured on Good Friday. We see in his sufferings the love that conquers suffering and death. St. John’s gospel, read on Good Friday, reveals glory in him whom they pierced. He brings life to us and our world. 

We cannot celebrate Jesus Christ risen from the dead without seeing the wounds in his hands and his side.   His victory over death was not without cost.  To rise with him we must die with him. “Lord, by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.” 

The Easter Triduum celebrates consecutively three mysteries of Jesus Christ that belong together. They are the most important mysteries of our faith. 

Alleluia!