The Benedict Year › Reading Backwards from the Pascha
Michaelmas · Weeks 1–3
The Hypothesis
The governing image of the whole year, given openly in the first week: the same tiles make a king or a fox, and the picture they are for decides.
Why it is here
On the road to Emmaus the risen Christ reads the Scriptures backwards, beginning from the end and interpreting in all of them the things concerning himself. Luke does not write the lecture down. The tradition read that silence as an assignment, and its answer is the set of readings sung at the Easter Vigil. This year borrows that answer whole.
What is it for?
What were the Scriptures for, on the road? Luke answers: their hearts burned within them (24:32).
Unanswerable
What did Jesus actually say on the road? Luke knows and won’t tell us. Why?
The weeks
| Week | Dates | Read aloud |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 14–18 September 2026 | The road, and the mosaic: Luke 24:1–35; Irenaeus, Against Heresies I.8.1, the mosaic of the king and the fox. Show a mosaic image first; it takes ten seconds lesson plan |
| Week 2 | 21–25 September 2026 | The envelope: Luke 24:36–53; Irenaeus, On the Apostolic Preaching §§1–16: the rule of faith, and creation |
| Week 3 | 28 September – 2 October 2026 | Moses and all the prophets: Luke 24:25–27 and 44–47, read again; Irenaeus, On the Apostolic Preaching §§17–42: from Cain to the Incarnation |
Books for this unit
Public domain I have dedicated this page to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Copy it, change it, translate it, print it and share it, for any purpose, without asking. Quotations from other writers keep their own terms.