Homily for Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

In today's Gospel passage, two of Jesus' disciples are walking away from Jerusalem on the first Easter night because they are haunted by negative memories of the city. It was there that Jesus, to whom they had dedicated their lives, was crucified. The city took away not only Jesus but also the hopes they had invested in Him. They wanted to leave, but Jesus had wanted them to stay.

What they didn't realize at the time was that Jerusalem was also the place where Jesus would be raised from the dead, where He would pour out His Holy Spirit upon His disciples, and where His message would begin to spread to the entire world.

As they walked, Jesus accompanied the two disciples and helped them understand that there was more to Jerusalem than they had initially considered. Similarly, in our lives, the places we avoid—physical locations or deeper emotional spaces—may seem dark and gloomy. However, these are often the very places where the seeds of new life can grow and where God is mysteriously yet powerfully at work in the darkness.