Burning Hearts

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. 

–Luke 24:13-35

We claim to believe. We identify as followers of Christ. We claim His holy name, but at times the chaos of the world swirling around us exposes our failing faith. We cite Scripture telling us that God is all-powerful and sovereign. We know Scripture tells us that His words have the power to create the universe out of nothing and the power to convert cosmically scaled chaos to order. His words have unimaginable power. And we cite Scripture telling us that He speaks to us and He desires relationship with us and, as if that is not enough, He dwells within us; yet, at times, when our world is turned upside down and we need our faith the most, our faith fades.

I recently heard a woman on the radio describe the darkest day of her life. She said, “I felt as if Jesus left me.” Do you know the feeling she described? I pray you do not. I pray you never will. But do you?

We cite Jesus’ words promising that He will not leave us as orphans (see John 14:18), but sometimes fear overrides faith. We once placed our hopes and dreams and trust in the strength of the economy and our jobs, but a virus, something so small we cannot see it, rocks that foundation. That tiny speck of a thing causes us to question whether air is safe to breathe, so we isolate ourselves at home waiting for a change, and as we do, tornados shatter the security of homes. And days after the storm floodwaters continue to rise while many sort through the wreckage of the storm’s wake. As the chaos swirls around, how do you feel? What is the foundation of your faith?

On that first Maundy Thursday, that first Good Friday, that first Holy Saturday and that first Easter, many who believed in Jesus Christ felt as if Jesus had left them. The script flipped too quickly for them to comprehend, their world turned upside down, their leader, their Lord, the One they believed to be the Messiah was gone, and the events swirling around them hid the truth from their eyes. They believed, but not fully, and they were unable to see the truth. 

Jesus foretold His death on at least three occasions (see Matthew 16:21, Luke 9:22, 9:44, and 18:31-34). He had explained that He must be tortured and killed, and He said that on the third day He would rise again. He had explained it all, but His followers did not have ears to hear the message. And it happened just as Jesus and the prophets before Him said it would. He was arrested, tried, tortured, killed, and He left the tomb empty conquering death. His closest friends saw the empty tomb and they were amazed by the events, but they did not know what to do with it all.

On that first Easter day, believers gathered in Jerusalem discussing it all, trying to make sense of it all. They were believers, they had believed Jesus to be the Messiah and they knew the tomb was empty; yet they were not connecting the dots. Late that afternoon, two of them left and started walking home. While traveling the seven-mile road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the events, they encountered another man who joined them on their journey and as they walked and talked, He explained to them how the events aligned with Scriptural prophecies. He said, 

“Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. Luke 24:25-27

As they sat down to eat that evening, the stranger broke bread, and in the breaking of the bread the two believers suddenly saw that the man was Jesus Christ Himself. They had spent their journey walking and talking with Jesus Christ, but they did not realize it until that moment of clarity when their eyes opened to see the reality before them. Until that instant, the clouds of chaos swirling around them blinded them from the truth. But in an instant, they truly saw. They experienced with absolute clarity the living Christ before them.

As soon as they saw Him, truly saw Him, Jesus vanished. They were renewed. Their faith was restored. They knew Jesus Christ truly is the Messiah, they knew He truly conquered death, they knew He truly rose from the grave, they knew that their earlier belief was too small, and in that instant of clarity they saw with new eyes. And they responded with action – they got up and ran back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Their walk to Emmaus had been filled with questions but they rushed back to Jerusalem filled with confident assurance, eager to tell everyone about Christ Jesus who lives.

Please understand this. The world did not change when they saw Christ Jesus with clarity. Chaos continued to swirl. Clouds continued to blow. The men in power who tortured Jesus were still in power. Events in the world continued progressing exactly as they did before that moment. The world did not change, but their perception of the world changed radically. They suddenly knew in the depths of their souls that Christ Jesus lives, and for them that radical truth changed everything. Yes, the world’s chaos continued to swirl around them, but their foundation of the faith was suddenly stronger than ever and the events swirling around them were no longer worthy of their focus. They saw Christ Jesus clearly. They experienced Him in the fullness of His glory, and their experience changed the way they handled everything else. The world did not change; they did.

They got up and returned to Jerusalem. They rushed back to the very place where only a few days earlier Jesus had been treated with incredible cruelty, and they rushed back to tell everyone about the Christ who lives. 

And please understand this. While God’s holy word is powerful and miracles happen when God speaks, Christ Jesus walked with the men and talked with them for an extended time, explaining God’s holy word to them, and their hearts burned while He spoke, but the speaking of God’s holy word was not what opened their eyes to see. They saw Jesus for who He is in the simple, intimate act of breaking bread. It was not His teaching that opened their eyes, it was through sharing a meal that their eyes were opened, and at that moment all the teaching made sense and they suddenly realized that their hearts had been burning. They did not realize that their hearts were on fire while He spoke, the realization came later, in response to their moment of clarity.

So we pray for eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts that are fertile soil for His seeds to grow. We pray that His Holy Spirit will continue transforming our spirits, enlightening the eyes of our spirits, removing the clouds from our vision and giving us clarity. We need clarity of vision so we too will rush back out into the world eager to tell everyone about Christ Jesus who lives, eager to tell everyone about our encounter with Him, eager to tell the world about our burning hearts.

May you encounter Christ Jesus in a new way now, in this moment, where you are. And while the chaos may still swirl around you, may your experience of His glory give you newfound clarity of vision and confident assurance that through and with Christ Jesus who loves you and lives within you, you can handle everything the world throws at you because your focus is on Him. Amen.