Opening the Word is a series of prompts from The Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies to help focus our minds and hearts on the Sunday Mass Readings. After Jesus revealed Himself to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32). Our Lord desires to enflame our hearts also by revealing Himself to us in His Word. Take this opportunity to pause, and allow the Lord to make Himself known to you through the opening of the Scriptures which will ready your eyes to see Him in the breaking of the bread.
Third Sunday of Easter: May 4, 2025
First Reading: Acts of the Apostles 5:27-32, 40b-41
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 30:2, 4-5, 11-12, 13
Second Reading: Revelation 5:11-14
Gospel: John 21:1-19
Step 1: Begin in prayer, asking the Lord to open your heart to receive how He wants to make Himself known to you. Then, attentively read the Scriptures.
Step 2: Consider these meditation prompts that follow from the readings:
In the first reading, it tells us that the Apostles rejoiced because “they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” Herein lies the great paradox of Christian joy—that our sufferings for the sake of Christ and His gospel do not impede but only increase the unshakable joy that we have in the good news of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us in His passion, death, and resurrection. I invite each of us to meditate deeply on this reality: do I count it as a joy when I am able to unite my sufferings with Jesus? Or do I only acknowledge joy when things are ‘going well’ (that is, comfortably)?
This weekend’s readings collectively challenge us to seek what is the true source of our Christian joy. If the gospel of Jesus is something I view only as a self-improvement project or a spiritual wellness program, then it will be intensely difficult to find its joy amidst times of suffering or persecution. Conversely, if I see with eyes of St. John in Revelation (c.f., the second reading) and see Jesus as the One and True Lamb that was slain, the only one who is “worthy…to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing;” or if I love the Lord with the heart of Simon Peter (cf. the Gospel), then I am able to perservere through earthly tribulation for the sake of the unquenchable joy that stems from knowing Jesus and sharing His good news. Let us take these words from the Sunday readings and allow them to shape our hearts and minds, so that, with the Apostles, we can rejoice in the good news that Easter brings.
Step 3: Conclude with a prayer of gratitude and ask the Lord to keep these Words in your heart.
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