A look at the gaps in the lectionary.
This week: the gap between Easter 2 and 3
The text: we jump from John 20:19-31 to Luke 24:13-35
After spending most of Holy Week and the first two weeks of Easter in the Gospel of John, we now jump over to Luke. A change that is more subtle than significant.
Chapter 24 of Luke tells the resurrection a little differently. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James go to the tomb to find it empty. Two figures in white appear and say: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
Having heard the rising of Lazarus (in John) back at the end of Lent, these words resonate with a familiar tone. We’re expecting to see the dead but there are no dead here.
Luke, unlike the other resurrection stories, however, speaks to unbelief about this resurrection. And it is Peter who runs to the tomb to see for himself. Finding the wrappings and an otherwise empty tomb freaks him out.
This is the setup for this week’s encounter.
Looking Ahead
This week, we’ll be getting what might feel like another resurrection encounter. One that might sit alongside last week’s visit to the locked house. An encounter that we can harmonize with the visit that happens next in Luke—the upper room.
We might also reflect on the tension that John and Luke both encounter: how real is this?
In Luke, they literally ask. Some question the whole thing. So Jesus is like “touch me”. This is super real.
John does it differently. His is all “see and feel” but then, when it comes down to it, doesn’t rely on touch. It’s about belief regardless.
In this week’s walk to Emmaus, with hearts strangely warmed, we encounter a seemingly less intense vision of faith—one not built as against the concepts of doubt and fear. This one is more connected to encountering, being with, and opening up ourselves.
In other words, one less centered on getting the idea about the resurrection right. And more centered on how Jesus reveals himself to us.