INBOX INSPIRATIONS
May 13, 2026
Emmaus Story
Dear Friends,
Today, I am sharing with you a recent homily given at a weekday Mass.
Homily
Wednesday of Easter Week
April 8, 2026
On the gospel for that day, Luke 24:13-35
Today’s gospel is one of my favorite passages in the Scriptures. It is also the longest of all the resurrection stories. I want to look at just one sentence: “Stay with us, for it is evening and the day is almost over.”
So, the story is about two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus, the risen Christ joins them, but they do not at first recognize him. But still, they eventually say to him, “Stay with us, for it is evening and the day is almost over.” I see two layers of meaning in these words.
First, they are words of hospitality. The two disciples invite this stranger to stay with them. And because they are hospitable and welcoming to this stranger, they end up encountering the risen Christ. I see here a fulfillment of Jesus’ words in chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Jesus is, in effect, saying: “When you welcome a stranger, you welcome me.” So, this kind of hospitality or welcoming enables these two disciples and will also enable us to experience the risen Christ.
There is another layer of meaning to the words “Stay with us, for it is evening and the day is almost over.” These words are also our plea. Maybe they are a universal human plea. We need and we want the Lord to stay with us through all the ups and downs of our human journey. We need him to stay with us for the entire journey of life, and maybe especially when we sense that it is getting near the “evening” of our lives and “the day is almost over” – to use the words of the disciples. And, wonderfully, Jesus does stay with us. This is what he did for us at the Last Supper.
It is interesting that even in this passage, Jesus stays with these disciples and then celebrates the sacrament of his staying with us – the Eucharist. This is why the Eucharist is the gem and epicenter of our faith. It is the great treasure that we have.
It is God staying with us and responding to that profound need that we all have for his presence.
We celebrate and receive this “staying” every time we come to Mass.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
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