By Paulina Garcia, Fiat Ventures
Third Sunday of Easter
Imagine this scenario: Two disciples are completely crushed. The man they’ve spent every day with for the past three years has just been brutally killed. They thought He was the one who would save them—the one who might even overthrow Rome. But they saw Him die. Every hope they had feels shattered.
So, they leave Jerusalem, basically “rage-quitting” and heading home.
And then… a stranger starts walking with them. They have no idea who He is.
Think about what they might have been feeling on that walk – sad, disappointed, maybe even abandoned or hopeless. Because in their minds, Jesus is gone. In the moment they needed Him the most.
We’ve all been there. That feeling when life gets messy or boring and it seems like God has ghosted us. But here’s the crazy part: the disciples were literally walking with Jesus and didn’t recognize Him. This passage reminds us that Jesus is often most present when He feels most absent. He doesn’t wait for you to get your life together before showing up. He meets you exactly where you are, even if you’re walking in the wrong direction.
We can feel drained by everything, social media, school stress, or just feeling “meh” about life. But Jesus is still there. Even when we don’t recognize Him, He’s walking with us. He’s not going to force Himself into your life or rush you. He waits patiently for the exact moment when you’re ready to recognize Him. The disciples didn’t recognize Jesus through some huge, dramatic miracle. They recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.
For us, that’s the Eucharist.
Every Sunday, we’re invited into that same moment. What looks like simple bread and wine is Jesus reminding us over and over again that we are never alone. God shows up in the simple, quiet, consistent moments. You don’t need a huge, emotional, mountaintop experience every day to find Him. He’s right there, waiting for you to notice, waiting for you to receive Him, and to keep walking with Him.
And honestly, one of the coolest parts of this story is what happens next.
The moment they recognize Him, the disciples turn around and run seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell their friends. Because when you truly encounter Jesus – when you recognize Him – you have to share it. That kind of joy, that kind of peace, is too real to keep to yourself.
Life can feel like a long, confusing walk sometimes. But you’re not walking it alone. Jesus is the “stranger” walking right beside you, just waiting for you to invite Him into the conversation, and into your life.