From Rev’d Vicky Falvey
phone: 07356 234248
email: revvickyfalvey@gmail.com
Readings: Acts 2. 14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 1. 17-23; Luke 24. 13-35
To hear Vicky’s sermon click on the arrow below.
The following is taken from the Parish Newsletter for Sunday 19th April 2026.
‘Hearts burning on the Road’
On this Third Sunday of Easter, we are invited to walk alongside two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). It is a story filled with movement- physical, emotional, and spiritual. The disciples are leaving Jerusalem, walking away from the place where their hopes seemed to have died. Their conversation is heavy with confusion and disappointment: ‘ We had hoped…’ are the words that seep from their mouths.
How often do those words echo in our own lives?
This passage meets us in that very human space between hope and disappointment. The risen Christ comes near, but he is not recognised. This is not because he is absent, but because grief, fear, and unmet expectations can cloud our vision. We, too, can walk through our days unaware of God’s presence, especially when life has not unfolded as we imagined.
What is striking is how Jesus responds. He does not overwhelm them with proof or immediately reveal himself. Instead, he walks with them. He listens. He opens the scriptures to them, gently reinterpreting their story in the light of God’s larger purpose. There is a patience here that speaks volumes about God’s way with us. Faith is often rekindled not through dramatic moments, but through steady companionship and the slow unfolding of understanding.
The turning point comes in a simple, familiar act: the breaking of bread. In that moment, their eyes are opened. Recognition comes not on the road of debate or explanation, but at the table of fellowship. It is a reminder that Christ is often made to us in ordinary, shared experiences- in hospitality, in community, in the rhythms of worship.
This story invites us to reflect on our own journeys. Where might we be walking away in disappointment? Where might Christ already be beside us,unrecognised? And how might our eyes be opened- perhaps in scripture, perhaps in the breaking of bread, perhaps in the quiet presence of another?
The Emmaus road is not just a story of the past; it is a pattern for our lives. Christ meets us in our uncertainty, walks with us in our questioning, and reveals himself in ways we do not always expect. And when we recognise him, even for a moment, everything changes. Our hearts are rekindled, and we are sent out again- not alone, but accompanied by the living Christ.
May we have the grace to notice him on the road, the openness to receive him at the table, and the courage to return with joy to the world he calls us to serve.
Rev’d Vicky
Updated 22nd April 2026