April 19, 2026, at Saint William Churches in Naples, Fl
Acts of the Apostles 2: 14, 22-33 + Psalm 16 + 1 Peter 1: 17-21 + Like 24: 13-35
We hear today a Gospel story so familiar that most of you could pass it on without hesitation. That familiarity however comes with the risk that we fail to explore the wonder of this important Gospel story. There are four people here: the stranger, Cleopas, someone without a name, and Peter. We know about Peter and more will come in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. That stranger the two meet on the road has no name leading us to acknowledge who this is that enters as an invited guest and then becomes the host at that table since he is the one who takes bread, breaks and distributes it. As Luke tells this story, there is still another person unnamed whose identity ought to make us curious enough to wonder and think more deeply.
It might surprise you at first as I suggest that there are many scholars who believe that this other companion is a woman. It makes some sense because all through Luke’s Gospel women are repeatedly in significant roles. Not naming her reflects the culture at the time when women were not counted. Personally, I think that without any real biblical evidence artists have always painted this scene with two men limiting our imagination and causing less of Luke’s message to come through to us.
This is domestic scene. A couple have returned home and have welcomed a stranger. They have made a journey that is more than a walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It is the journey all disciples must travel, from knowledge to encounter, from information to transformation. This is a movement from head to heart that continues to their feet has they rush back to tell the others what Peter has already declared, “The Lord has risen.” None of this would ever have happened had they not welcomed that stranger into their home that day.
It is the classic experience of something being too good to be true, and it challenges that attitude that if something can go wrong it probably will. What we proclaim today with this Gospel is what we find all through the Scriptures, stories about things that are too good to be true. Abraham and Sara in their old age have a baby. Moses, a murderer leads God’s people to freedom, David, the least likely of his brothers become the king. A persecutor named Saul takes the Gospel beyond Jewish boundaries to the Gentiles. Maybe things that are too good can be and are true. Sometimes I like to think that another name for God ought to be “Surprise”. When it comes to God, what seems too good is exactly what it is.
For many, hope is a cruel and dangerous emotion. So, they dare not let down their guard and believe. Fear becomes the greatest obstacle to belief. For that reason, the risen Christ often says: “Fear Not” as he offers Peace.
The news we share today is that there is something true that seemed too good. It is true that sinners like us have hope for a place in the Kingdom of God. It is true that in welcoming a stranger we may experience the presence of the Risen One. It is true that for any disciple who has received that broken, blessed bread, sadness will be overcome by Joy. Having made that journey from knowledge to encounter and from information to transformation, from head to heart all of us ought to be up on our feet anxious to tell others what we know to be good and true. Death and the fear of it have been conquered.