Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 19th April 2026

Supper at Emmaus, Rembrandt. The Louvre

Third Sunday after Easter

Let's begin our reflection with a few verses from Psalm 16 which forms our responsorial psalm this Sunday because the words ground us in the dynamic of our paschal faith and witness, it permeates our first reading from Acts but also is a prayer of great trust and hope :

'I bless the LORD who counsels me;

even at night my heart exhorts me.

I keep the LORD always before me;

with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;

my body also dwells secure.,(Ps 16 vv 7-9)

As we journey through our paschal season, we believe in our hearts those words of the psalmist- that the Lord is always before me, and when all else fails, the Lord will not abandon me even if as yet, I am unsure how the love and support of the Lord will manifest itself in my life.

As we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in the particular holy season part of the manifestation of the Christ is to find ourselves touched with Easter joy, when our hearts are filled with a new and strong sense of trust and hope in the love of the Lord, so that the words of Acts reach into our consciousness and become themselves a true experience of the Risen One to us, his present day witnesses and disciples:

'God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father
and poured him forth, as you see and hear.' (Acts 2:33)

From these words we can begin to understand that the resurrection of Christ also manifests the Trinity. The Father's promise is being revealed, the gift of the elusive and wonderful Holy Spirit is alive and active in our world and in our lives.

Our second reading from Peter sums up the revelation of the Father's promise to us completed in Jesus, and in our understanding then sealed by that great outpouring of the Sprit at Pentecost which continues in the lives of us all. Just like the psalmist Peter reminds us to pray, in this passage particularly to the Father in a simple but important sentence:' Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning"(1Peter 1:17)

As in the prayer of the 'Our Father' that Jesus taught us, we are bidden to treat the Unseen God as an intimate member of our lives, as 'abba', 'father' secure in the knowledge that our prayer will be hard, but in an echo of one of the phrases of the Lord's Prayer we are reminded that this 'abba' is merciful, kind and loving according to the good we do and forgiving us our sins.

When we pray our attitude is to be that of intimacy but also deep respect and love, reverence is more than a simple act of humble prayer , it is an attitude we cultivate, for reverence in the context of 1Peter 1: 17 means a deep, awe-filled respect for God, in which we combine love for our heavenly Father with another aspect of reverence, that of holy fear, 'awe' of the one who is our impartial judge at the end of time. We are also reminded that as 'sojourners' we recognise the delicate transitory nature of our lives on this little planet, as tem poraray dwellers we can not make claims on the earths resources without replacing what we use, and also as 'sojourners ' we recognise that like so many others that our place on this earth is in transitory. That is why as believers we are to live by making holiness our aim, by attentiveness to the voice of God in the true reciprocal listening of obedience, and in thoughtful conduct during our earthly life, aware of future divine judgement by a loving , caring God, at the end of the ages.

And how do we mange to learn and follow these promptings of the Most High? The Emmaus story hands it to us in that deeply intimate journey of the downcast ones, who like us meet the 'Risen One' but do not recognise Him until hearts, eyes and ears are opened by catechesis, listening to the Word of God, making it part of our lives in prayer and loving service, and in the Eucharist, where like the disciples they find Christ Jesus in the breaking of the bread . This too is our experience if we would be look and listen:

" 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?"(Lk 24:30-32)

This is our experience but maybe to fully understand and recognise the presence of the Lord with us, we should also make our own that simple repetitive prayer which those disciples used:' "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them'.(Lk 24: 29) And in saying that, he then will come in to our hearts and stay with us! Amen

LECTIO

Pope Francis - General Audience - 24 May 2017

Jesus' encounter with the two disciples of Emmaus is a fleeting one. But the entire destiny of the Church is contained within it. It tells us that the Christian community is not enclosed within a fortified citadel, but rather journeys along its most essential environment, which is the road. And there, it encounters people with their hopes and disappointments, burdensome at times. The Church listens to everyone's stories as they emerge from the treasure chest of personal conscience, in order to then offer the Word of Life, the witness of love, a love that is faithful until the end. And thus, the hearts of people reignite with hope.

We have all had difficult moments in life, dark moments in which we walked in sadness, pensive, without horizons, with only a wall before us. And Jesus is always beside us to give us hope, to warm our hearts and to say: "Go ahead, I am with you. Go ahead". The secret of the road that leads to Emmaus is simply this: despite appearances to the contrary, we continue to be loved and God will never stop loving us. God will walk with us always, always, even in the most painful moments, even in the worst moments, even in moments of defeat. That is where the Lord is. And this is our hope. Let us go forward with this hope! Because he is beside us and walks with us. Always!

Hymn - O Stay with us

1 O stay with us, Lord Jesus,
among us with your grace,
that Satan may not harm us,
and we may live in peace.

2 Stay with us, our Redeemer,
among us with your word,
that we may know your goodness
and faith in you be stirred.

3 Stay with your heavenly brightness
among us, precious light;
your truth keep us from error;
surround us with your might.

4 Stay with your richest blessings
among us, bounteous Lord;
let us in grace and wisdom
grow daily through your word.

5 Stay here with your protection
among us, Lord our strength,
and let the world and Satan
be overcome at length.

6 O stay, our faithful Saviour,
among us with your love;
grant steadfastness, and help us
to reach our home above.

Author: Josua Stegmann, 1588-1632
Translator: August Crull, 1845-1923 (revised)