Luke 24: 13-35
Recently I was asked to share in a meeting about my spiritual journey. It seemed like most had a story about listening to missionaries visiting their church when they were young and being inspired by the stories and hearing “the call.” I did not attend churches that had missionaries visiting regularly. My journey was not that direct, nor based on a personal encounter. I remember this song being sung at church “back in the day” and “my heart burning within me.”
We looked at the story of the two people on the road to Emmaus this week. They were headed away from Jerusalem to Emmaus, probably going home. They were swapping stories about the events of the week. Possibly not dissimilar to Sunday school stories for children. Figuring out a theme to Biblical stories is a lifetime adventure. Jesus joined their conversation but they did not recognize him. He took them back through all the Bible stories of him and showed them how the Messiah had to be born to suffer and die, not to defeat Rome, to defeat sin – our separation from God. Jesus agreed to stay with them and ate with them. In the breaking of the bread, they recognized him and he disappeared. They exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us!”
Burning hearts led to realization and the story did not end there. They returned to Jerusalem to tell others. The resurrection does not end at the empty tomb or just meeting the risen Christ. The resurrection results in sharing about a savior who lives and reigns. Please enjoy this old hymn sung by “the nations!”
On the Way to Wonder 