You are witnesses:  Alleluia, Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Easter is the unearned gift of grace. The reflective season of “going in” that Lent provided (no matter what disciplines we undertook, nor even how well we attended to them) explodes on Easter. Of course, we cannot “figure it out.” How comforting, then, to have these scriptures, showing first how the disciples struggled to grasp what had happened and then stories of Jesus before the crucifixion, which are written in the light of the Resurrection.

Words tumble from the mouths of the excited disciples as they try to convey what happened on the road to Emmaus. In mid-sentence, they hear “Peace be with you.” Jesus is in their midst. Jesus encourages them to touch him and see that it is he. As they scramble to believe what they are seeing, Jesus casually asks them if, by any chance, they have anything to eat! They have broiled fish, which is shared all around.

What stood out for you as you read/listened in today’s gospel? Peace is a repeated theme in Luke’s gospel. The peace that Jesus came to give is not a momentary cessation of hostilities, but a comprehensive blessing from God that comes and overrules all areas of our lives, especially the fear of death (John 14:27).

What is Jesus’ vision? Jesus’ vision is the very plan of God, written and recorded for thousands of years and written in the Bible. Jesus fulfilled the first part of this vision as the Messiah by his suffering death on the cross and glorious resurrection. The gospel message extends all time and space, including the time after Jesus’ resurrection. What vision did the Risen Jesus see and plant in his disciples?

Prayer:  Thank you, God, for knowing our longing for peace in our own lives and in the world. (Insert prayer requests.) We thank you for the words of reassurance we have in Scripture. Amen.