The Story That Never Ends

Reflection for April 19, 2026 – The Third Sunday of Easter

In today’s Gospel, the resurrected Jesus appears to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus although at first they don’t recognize him. He makes himself known to them through breaking bread. Find Today’s Reading Here

The biggest mistake we can make as Christians is to think that the Resurrection is the end of the story.

Of course we know, logically, that it isn’t — there are whole books of the Bible that come after it, detailing not just the activities and teachings of the Risen Christ, but the development of the early Church and the Gospel’s first baby steps into the wider world. We know this.

But sometimes we don’t act like it.

The thing is, we like stories that can be tied up neatly in a bow. It’s why “happily ever after” is a thing. These tidy endings are especially satisfying following an emotional gut punch and a twist — for instance, let’s say the crucifixion of the story’s hero and a gotcha! moment where it turns out he’s not dead after all. Drinks all around! And…scene. The curtain falls.

But the curtain didn’t fall. It still hasn’t.

Look at Cleopas. He has heard the testimony of people he knew, people he trusted — and yet, he’s in a world of confusion. He’s stumbling along the road, wondering what to believe.

Christ gave us “happily ever after.” But what do you do with “happily ever after?” What do you do with the Resurrection? What do you do with salvation?

The Resurrection left loose ends — not because it was insufficient, but because it was not a final chapter. So being a Christian means embracing the life of a loose end. It means figuring out what to do with the Resurrection, with salvation, with forgiveness — with this hard-won “happily ever after” that is a gift but also a commission.

Because the curtain is still up, and we are all characters in the Greatest Story Ever Told.

So, what’s the next scene?

©LPi