The "burning heart"

 
 
 
One of the intriguing things that happened during the forty-day period following the resurrection was the encounter between Jesus and the two men on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and a friend were walking along, discussing all the exciting things that had taken place in Jerusalem during the recent Feast of Weeks. Suddenly Jesus joined them and asked, “What are you two discussing so seriously?”
       “You must be the only person in the world who doesn’t know about that man Jesus,” they answered. “What he taught and did was so threatening to the Jewish hierarchy that they took him in custody and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified. We had hoped that he might have been the Messiah, but those in charge had him crucified. But of all things, this morning some women went to the tomb and he wasn’t there. No one has been able to locate the body.”
      At this point Jesus, who had been listening carefully, as if he hadn’t heard about his own disappearance, said, ”You foolish men! Why is it so hard for you to believe what the prophets wrote about the Messiah, that before entering his glorious reign it was necessary for him to suffer.” Then Jesus explained to them everything that the scripture had to say on the subject.
      When the three of them came to Emmaus, Jesus was going to continue on, but they urged him to stay for a while. It was already late, so Jesus went with the two men to where they lived and at dinner that evening broke bread and blessed it. As he was explaining scripture, their eyes were opened and they realized who it was sitting there at the table with them. Then suddenly Jesus disappeared from their sight. They looked at each other and, in awe, said, “Did not our hearts burn within us when he explained scripture to us as we walked along on the way?”
       “The burning heart” has become a favorite expression from scripture. It seems to capture a common experience of everyone who has taken Christ as personal savior and from time to time has been especially aware of his active presence in their life. The burning heart is not a matter of intellectual understanding, or is it simply an emotional experience; it is an existential awareness that combines both in a profound realization that God really is and he’s here right now.
       It was when Jesus was explaining scripture to the two men that they became aware that their hearts were burning within them. I’m asking myself, “Has my heart been burning recently?” And I must confess, “Not as often as I now wish it had.” From the account as told by Luke we need to emphasize that the burning heart experience took place when Jesus “talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” The deeply satisfying sense of God’s presence is realized by the believer when we are seriously considering the truths of scripture. More simply, God still speaks through his Word. Scripture is alive, vibrant, personal and life-changing because it is the voice of God. A single verse cannot help but create a burning heart because it comes from the lips of a God who loves us and wants us to hear what he would share with us today. How could a heart open to him help but burn?