Cedric Pisegna - Be Lifted Up (01/21/2026)
In the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus from Luke 24, Jesus joins them unnoticed, explains the Scriptures, and reveals himself in the breaking of the bread, causing their hearts to burn and prompting them to return to Jerusalem proclaiming his resurrection. Father Cedric uses this to show how God lifts us up from disappointment and dejection through his presence, the Word, and the Eucharist, turning our attitude around so we can rise with hope and new purpose. The key message is that no matter how down we feel, God is the lifter of our head, and storms in life can actually help us soar higher.
Introduction: The Road to Emmaus
Hi, I’m Father Cedric Pisegna, the host of «Live with Passion». I’m so glad that you invited me into your home. I want to talk about what happened in Luke chapter 24. If you remember, Jesus was raised up from the dead, but the disciples didn’t know it yet, and two of them were walking away from Jerusalem, which is the place of mission, to a town called Emmaus, and suddenly Jesus walked with them, and then this is what happened. «When Jesus was at table with them, he took bread and blessed it, broke it, gave it to them, and their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said to each other, 'Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened up the Scriptures to us? ' And they rose that same hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the 11 gathered and said, 'The Lord has indeed risen.'»
Be Lifted Up in Attitude
I wanted to share with you that this is a series called «Be Lifted Up,» and one of the places where we need to be lifted up is in our attitude. I’ve talked about our mind, I’ve talked about our prayer life, I’ve talked about other things in this series, but our attitude. And I like to say that a good attitude leads to a high altitude. I love what it says in the Scriptures, Psalm 3:3, «God is the lifter of our head». And that’s exactly what’s going on in this Scripture that we have from Luke 24. The disciples were probably in the worst moment of their life. They’re dejected, they’re disappointed, their Lord and Savior had been crucified.
Jerusalem, in the Gospel of Luke, is the place of mission, the place of proclamation of the gospel, and they’re going away from Jerusalem. Their dreams have been broken, they’re disappointed, and then suddenly, Jesus shows up. And that’s what I’m hoping will happen in your life. You might be disappointed, dejected, going through a hard time, but remember, God is the lifter of our head. He brings a lifting up and a whole new attitude. Suddenly, Jesus shows up, and Jesus starts talking to them about the Scriptures, and then he breaks bread with them. They do a U-turn, they go back to Jerusalem and proclaim the risen Lord, and the rest is history.
A Personal Story of Disappointment and Renewal
I remember a time when I was going through a disappointment in my life. I was studying for priesthood. I left my family in Chicago, giving my life to the Lord, joining a religious community. I had professed my first vows, not my perpetual vows yet, and I get into a conflict with my formation director who is a priest. And it was a very difficult situation, and I struggled. I was confused, I was disappointed, because I thought God had called me. I ended up going on a retreat, and the retreat that I went to was a place called the Franciscan University at Steubenville, Ohio. Very charismatic, very spirited, very enthusiastic, and some things happened on that retreat where Jesus showed up. God is the lifter of our head.
And I remember one Mass in particular, there was probably a thousand people, there were drums, and cymbals, and singing, and the song was called «Rise Up, O Men of God». We’re talking about being lifted up. «Rise up, O man of God, and have done with lesser things. Give heart, and soul, and mind, and strength to serve the King of kings». And as we’re singing that, the glory fell and I received, and I got my head lifted up, everything changed. U-turns are permitted in Christianity. And the U-turn that I’m talking about is to go from disappointment to reappointment. You’re going through a struggle right now, maybe you’re disappointed with politics, who isn’t? Maybe you’re disappointed with somebody in your life. Maybe you have a broken dream. Well, I’ll tell you, God is the lifter of our head. You can be reappointed. Rise up, O people of God.
Jesus Shows Up and Speaks Through Scripture
What happened was, Jesus suddenly showed up. Jesus showed up on that retreat, and I’m praying that Jesus will show up during this program, touch your heart in a beautiful way. He shows up and he starts walking with the disciples. Oftentimes that’s what he does. I wrote a book called «The Sacred Walk». As we’re journeying, Jesus walks with us. And suddenly, every once in a while, we get a glimpse. And he starts talking to them about the Scriptures, and their hearts began to burn. I have to tell you, the Scriptures have been so instrumental in my life, lifting up my attitude and my heart. I have been born again by the Word of God. The Scriptures literally bring new life to us.
I think about, for example, the futility of the world that we live in, the disappointments and the brokenness, the suffering, my own physical sufferings at times. I can get down and disappointed. Remember, God is the lifter of our head, Psalm 3:3. And I’ll read Romans 8:18, one of my favorite verses. «I consider that the sufferings of the present time aren’t worth comparing with the glory that’s going to be revealed». And that will lift my head, and perk my heart, and lift up my spirit, because the bottom line is, is that the Scriptures give us hope, and hope is one of the three things that lasts forever. It was Emily Dickinson who wrote, «Hope is that thing with feathers».
You know what feathers do on a bird? They make them fly. Feathers for us lift us up. A good attitude leads to a high altitude. And hope is what comes from the Scriptures. Jesus was giving them hope when their hopes were dashed. And I pray that your hope will be rekindled, that you will get a reappointment, or renewal, or rejuvenation as you hear this program. You might turn to the Scriptures, and hopefully God will speak to. Their hearts burned as they heard Jesus speak about the Scriptures.
The Breaking of the Bread and Worship
And then he broke bread with them, that’s a technical term I learned in the seminary, breaking of the bread. It occurs in the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel of Luke. Technical term for when the early church used to meet together, they broke bread.
In the Catholic Church, we call that Mass, and at Mass, we have the reading of the Scriptures, a homily to explain it, and then we break bread. By the way, talk about being lifted up, that’s exactly what a religious service or a religious TV program ought to be doing. It ought not to bring you down or discouraged, it ought to lift you up. For example, just the church architecture lifts us up. You go into most churches, and you look at the ceiling, and they’re arched like a V, and that’s to bring your eyes up. So, lift up your heart to God. I like the Crystal Cathedral in California, now the Catholic Cathedral in Orange County has windows, and when you go in there, you can’t help but look up and see all the clouds and look up to God in prayer.
And what we’re having here in this story is the liturgy of the Eucharist. We’re having the Word that burns, and then we’re having the breaking of the bread, and it all happens in a church building. Worship is meant to lift us higher. In the early church, there was a teaching called the Didache, and that was right after the Gospels this teaching came out. They had a saying, «Hearts up,» and at Mass we say, «Lift up your hearts». This series is all about being lifted up, and sometimes you have to encourage yourself. That’s why we have music. Music lifts up our hearts, gets us singing. Oftentimes when I’m down and discouraged and I don’t feel like it, I worship, and I sing, and that lifts me up. That brings a lightness, feathers to the soul.
Mass is a time of communion, communion with the Lord. We go to Communion to receive him. We sit and we’re quiet. We let him speak to us. It can be a time where we’re touched and lifted up. The homily, we call it a homily in Catholicism, the sermon, but a homily is that sermon at Mass. It ought to be a time that we’re lifted up. You ought to hear something inspirational. The truth is, is that preaching is designed to lift us up. That’s what this program, that’s with «Live with Passion» is all about. We’re trying to lift you up.
This series is called «Be Lifted Up». God is the lifter of our head, but God works through people. And at our religious services, we ought to be lifted up. Communion, singing, the church building itself. No more of this negative thought or negative attitude that I’ve had enough of organized religion, they’re all a bunch of hypocrites. Now, we’ve all heard that negativity. No, be positive. God will work in your heart. He will lift up your heart. He will lift up your head. And I’m praying if you just tuned into this program and you’re hearing my voice, that God is speaking to you, calling you back.
If you are a churchgoer, participate, get involved, and lift up the hearts of other people, be an encourager.
U-Turns and Hope in God
So, this is what’s happening here. The Gospel of Luke is really giving us Eucharist. It’s a eucharistic illusion. U-turns are permitted. They were disappointed and they went to being reappointed, and that’s what the gospel is telling us. Jesus showed up. This is Psalm 42:5, «Why are you cast down my soul? Hope in God. I will praise him still». Maybe your soul has been cast down and you’ve lost hope. A broken relationship, physical sufferings, the political scene, the pandemic, all the different things that are going on in life, mass murderers, we’ve heard them all. It’s easy to lose hope, but we will praise God still. «Why are you cast down my soul»?
That was King David writing one of the Psalms. And then it says in Psalm 113, «From the dust, God lifts up the lowly». And it’s easy sometimes to feel like we’re in the dust and we are lowly, but God has come to breathe on us and to lift us up. Remember, God is the lifter of our head. I love the song of Mary. Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, in Ein Karem, that’s right near Jerusalem, I’ve been there. And they have this church of the visitation in Ein Karem, and she’s saying the magnificat, or spoke the magnificat, it’s called «Mary’s Song». We religious have it in evening prayer every night. And Mary proclaimed the greatness of God. She said, «God lifts up the lowly, he comes to the help of his servant Israel».
It’s not just the rich, and the wealthy, and the exalted that get lifted up. God has a special concern for the poor, for the broken, for the ostracized, for those on the fringe. God lifts up the lowly, and you can expect to be lifted up. Jesus was lifted up on the cross in order to lift us up. Eventually we’re going to be resurrected, but to lift us up right now, whatever trials or tribulations that we’re going through.
The Eagle's Egg Story
I wanted to share a story about what happened with this eagle’s egg. This little eagle’s egg got taken out of its nest, and somebody actually took it and put it into the chicken’s eggs, the hen’s eggs in the barnyard. And they all hatched about the same time, and the little eagle, it came out of the egg, and there were chicks all around him, and he looked around, and he thought he was a chick.
He walked like a chicken, and talked like a chicken, because that’s all he knew. And he started to grow a little bit, and got a little bit older, and one day he looked up and he could see this gracious, beautiful eagle soaring up above, and he thought to himself, «Wow, I’d love to be like that eagle,» then he looked around and he said, «That’ll never happen 'cause I’m just a chicken». And then he continued to walk like a chicken, and talk like a chicken, and eat like a chicken. Then one day, as he grew a little bit older, this ferocious storm blows into the barnyard, all the chickens ran for cover, flapped their wings, but instinct took over, and the eagle stood its ground. And as the storm blew, it opened up his wings, and he began to elevate, and as he elevated, at first he was afraid, after all, he was a chicken and he couldn’t fly. But as he began to elevate, he exercised his wings, and he began to go higher.
Soon, before he knew it, he was up into the thermal currents, and as he looked down as he was soaring, he had this gracious realization he wasn’t a chicken after all, he was a gracious, beautiful eagle. And notice what it was that brought that eagle the realization. It was a storm. It was the hardships. It was the wind. It was the difficulties. The things that oftentimes bring disappointment and hardships to people is what lifted him up. And I’m praying that your storms, and we all have them, your difficulties, your troubles, your trials won’t discourage you, but you will find God lifting up your head in the midst of all that. See, it’s all about attitude. A good attitude leads to a high altitude.
The Three Hairs: Attitude in Suffering
Everybody has storms. Everybody has difficulties. I came across this one story about a woman who had cancer, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s called «The Three Hairs».
There was once a woman who was going through treatments for cancer. And she woke up one morning, and she looked in the mirror, and she noticed that she only had three hairs on her head. She said, «Well, I think I’ll braid my hair today». She did, and she had a wonderful day. The next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror, and she only had two hairs on her head. She said, «Hmm, I think I’ll part my hair down the middle,» and she did, and she had a grand day. Then the next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror, and she had one hair on her head. And she said, «Well, today I’m gonna wear my hair in a ponytail,» and she did, and she had a fun, fun day. Then finally the next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror, and she noticed there wasn’t a single hair on her head. «Yay,» she exclaimed, «I don’t have to fix my hair today».
Attitude is everything. I actually shared that story on Facebook, and this is one of the comments that I got. She said, Father Cedric, «I’m a woman who has gone through cancer treatments myself. Thank you for this story. And yes, when I went through the treatments, I didn’t have to pay for the hair salon. I saved money». And I love that attitude. What a beautiful reply.
Storms Can Lift Us Higher
And this whole series is about being lifted up. You don’t have to stay stuck. You don’t have to live with depression. You don’t have to be disappointed all the time. You can be reappointed and lifted up. Henry Ford said that when everything seems to be going against you, remember, the airplane takes off not with the wind, but against the wind. The wind actually helps lift the airplane.
I heard this story about, well, how the wings of an airplane are made. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen these small blades on a wing, they’re called vortex generators, and these little blades on the wing actually create turbulence, because if there’s a smooth flow of wings, the airplane doesn’t steer as well as it’s supposed to. But when there’s a slight turbulence, and that’s what the vortex generator does, when there’s a slight turbulence, they can steer better. Actually, life is designed to give us turbulence, to give us trouble, to give us trials, to give us those storms. Notice what it was that lifted the eagle up on high, that brought him to his gracious realization. It was the storm.
I think about people that are in the 12-Step Program, people that have bottomed out. Oftentimes, it’s at your lowest moment, I always tell people when you’re at your lowest moment, there’s nowhere to go but up. So, at your lowest moment, remember the prodigal son when he’s slopping in the pigs with the mud? He comes to his senses. In other words, he has a realization about who he really is, and he says in my father’s house, even my servants, his servants are eating better than me. And he comes to a gracious realization, and he goes back to his father. I pray that the storms of your life won’t break you, they’ll make you. They’ll bring you to a gracious realization about who you are and whose you are.
Examples from Life and History
Perhaps some of you are going through some storms in your life, and I pray that it will bring you back to God, who is the lifter of our head. He will lift you up. He loves you. He’s with you. He walks with you. I’m praying that Jesus is suddenly going to show up in your life. Enough pity parties. Some of you are home and you haven’t left the house for a while, you’ve been afraid, you’ve been goin' through some hard times. Some of you have to deal with a wheelchair, I know suffering’s hard. As I said about the Scriptures, the sufferings of the present aren’t worth comparing with the glory to be revealed. Have hope, people of God. Hope is the thing with feathers. It will lift you up. «God is the lifter of our head,» Psalm 3:3.
I love to play golf. I think about sometimes when I go play, you want to do well on the first hole. I remember one time I made a triple bogey on the first hole. That’s three over par on one hole, that hardly ever happens anytime in the round, never mind the first hole. And I was so discouraged, but it made me buckle down, and I ended up shooting in the low 70s, even with a triple bogey. Sometimes it’s the adversity of life that makes you buckle down and try harder and get better. They call that Napoleonic syndrome. Napoleon, if you remember, was very small and suffered, but he became a great, powerful emperor.
And I think about John Rahm, the pro golfer, John Rahm is a Spaniard golfer. He was playing the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, He was leading by six strokes, and at the conclusion of the round, they came up to him and they had tested him for the COVID virus, and they told them after the round that he tested positive and he wouldn’t be able to finish the tournament. And right there on national TV, he almost broke down in tears, because he had won the tournament last year, he was destined to win the tournament this year. That’s like $1.4 million, plus all the things that come with winning the tournament, and he had to stop. How devastating that was.
Three weeks later, he won the U.S. Open when he was able to play again, a coveted U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. And part of the reason why he won that U.S. Open is because he didn’t let his disappointment drag him down, it made him stronger. And it’s the same in our lives, too. Our disappointment can be or reappointment. Our obstacles can be opportunities for new life. Thomas Edison, he invented the light bulb as you know. He failed at thousands of attempts before he invented it. And he said, «I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work». Well, he finally did find the right way, and it did work, and now we have the light bulb.
The Tide That Lifts Us
In the spring of 2021, this huge, massive, large container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, and it blocked all the other ships from going by.
Twelve percent of the world trade of ships go through the Suez Canal. This was costing millions, if not billions of dollars, because it was stuck for about a week. They tried everything. They tried digging it out, they tried tug boats, they couldn’t get it to move. You know what finally got that ship lifted? The tide came in. The full moon and the tide. It was JFK, who said, he had an aphorism. «A rising tide lifts all boats,» but what I wanna say to you right now is that maybe you feel stuck, and you’re not moving, you’re disappointed, you’re going through hard times and sufferings, don’t we all? Remember, it was the storm that lifted up the eagle. And I want to say that your tide is coming in right now. God is the lifter of your head. Don’t just live, live with passion.