April 19, 2026
3rd Sunday
Easter
FOCUS: God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.
Perhaps we can identify with the two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. They most likely felt despair and discouragement, but when Jesus revealed himself to them that despair was turned into joy and they rushed to tell the other disciples. If we today continue to open ourselves to God’s movement in our lives, we can feel that same joy and be energized to share the Good News with others.
What's in Your Heart
Give and receive witness to the truth of Jesus Christ: Those are two key messages in today's readings.
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Who are some of the least likely witnesses to Christ I've encountered? What did I learn from the strength of their faith?
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When I proclaim the gospel, do I speak with conviction? Can others feel the depth of my faith? Could I stand as Peter did in a crowd and speak of Jesus' Resurrection and saving power?
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Where are my blind spots when it comes to my faith? If I had 15 minutes with Jesus on my way to work, what would I love to have explained by him?
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Like the breaking-of-the-bread moment for the disciples, what moments have you had when you saw Jesus in your life?
Homily Stories
I recently made a pilgrimage to Salvation Mountain, a giant art installation far into the desert between Palm Springs, California and the Mexico border. An artist named Leonard Knight spent 20 years painting an enormous adobe mound with Christian folk art, and people come from all over the world to see it. My heart burned over the spectacle of the place! It is a riot of technicolor proclaiming the presence of God in the most desolate landscape.
On the way back to Palm Springs, God was much less recognizable. I was forced to drive through a makeshift Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway—even though I had not left the United States and I was more than 50 miles from the border. I have long been aware that the privilege of my skin color has kept me safer than others, but that is not the case as much anymore, and I felt afraid approaching the heavily armed agents.
I couldn’t tell you what any of the agents looked like because my fear caused me to see nothing but their weaponry. I also noticed that those pulled to the side of the road for inspection were not white like me and my companions. One of the agents peered into our car, and noting nothing but our faces, waved us through. None of us in that moment really saw each other’s humanity. Much less the image of God we bear.
