Easter 3A – Luke 24:13-32 – “Burning Hearts” – May 8, 2011 I finally got some free time this weekend to clean out my flower beds and do some mulching. One of the things that I miss about living in the country is that I could take all that dead plant material and start a raging fire. I love watching a fire burn, how it flares up into roaring flames when it comes to an abundance of fuel and how it dwindles as the fuel runs out. And when I was finished I would douse the remaining flames with my garden hose. A raging fire reminds me of faith and how the flames of faith can be easily fanned or easily doused.

God wants our hearts to be on fire. He began that fire in Holy Baptism, when He called us to faith in Jesus. He continues to kindle that fire – to feed the flames of faith with His Word and Sacrament, so that we burn with intensity and passion as we live our lives to His glory in this world darkened by sin and death. He wants to fan the flames of faith shaping us into His servants that go and tell others what the resurrected Christ means to us. Is your heart burning within you. Or are the flames dwindling?

Our text today reveals some of those things that at times dwindle our faith. But it also reveals the spiritual kindling we need, so that the flames of faith rage within us.

Have you ever noticed that some of the saddest words in our language begin with the letter D? For example, disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and death. All of these are summed up in the words which Cleopas and his companion speak to the stranger who joined them on the Emmaus road. They had left the dispirited and confused band of disciples with the events of Good Friday fresh in their memories. I suppose we can sympathize with their bewilderment. After all, what happens to us when the unexpected tragedies of life come upon us?

Unexpected tragedy sums up what has happened in Jerusalem. Cleopas and this other disciple had known that Jesus was a prophet mighty in word and deed, and hope had sprung up in them that He would be the Redeemer of Israel. Only a week before, on Palm Sunday, the disciples’ hopes had risen to fever pitch when the excited crowds had hailed Jesus as the long-expected Messiah.

But the Master they had revered, loved and followed had been horribly put to death. And it seemed that hope had died with Him. They had heard of a vision of angels, who said He was alive, and of the emptiness of the tomb, even some of the women seemed to think they had seen Him – but it was too much to hope for. They lamented.

It was now the third day of this grief and it seemed too late for hope to be revived. Once they had been sure that Jesus was the answer to all the world’s problems. “We had hoped,” they declared. But in the face of disappointment and doubt they were tempted to think that Christ was dead forever. Hearts that had been on fire were now hearts that were aching and broken. Hearts full of faith had seen that faith dwindle.

We also face these dastardly “D’s” – disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and death. And in the face of them our hearts may be tempted to think that Christ is forever dead. Do we sometimes live as if He were still dead and buried, with lack of courage, with an absence of prayer and confidence, with failure to believe and confess? When God doesn’t do what you hoped He would, hope is destroyed by aching hearts. Why didn’t You save this life? Why didn’t You save this marriage? Why did You let this happen? Why are You so far from me in my need? Why do You let me get hurt so often? When we are faced with the trials and difficulties of life – sickness, family problems, unemployment, financial troubles, death – the flames of faith can easily dwindle.

So, Jesus drew near to them to help them make sense of the cross. Jesus explained from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to suffer and die and then enter His glory (v 26). The death of the promised Messiah was not a tragic accident or failure, but was God’s plan of redemption. The Cross of shame and suffering had become the Cross of Redemption for all who would come to Jesus in repentance and faith. They now understood that it is in the cross where the greatest victory is found – victory over disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and death.

Our Gospel reading culminates when Jesus revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread. The burning in the disciples’ hearts was reinforced and built up by the recognition of His presence with them. I can imagine Cleopas and his friend standing in amazement; perhaps embracing in great joy, asking each other, “Did not our hearts burning within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Their world had come together again. Jesus was alive. Despair and death were defeated. Filled with joy and excitement, they could not rest till they had walked the seven miles back to Jerusalem to share the good news with the apostles.

That’s how the glorious discovery of the resurrection moves God’s people! And when they arrived, the apostles also had good news to share with them – Peter had seen the risen Lord. And possibly these two disciples were privileged to see the Risen Lord a second time that day when Jesus came and stood among the disciples who were gathered in the locked room.

Hearts that ache and are broken happen to all of us from time to time. Sometimes it’s so hard to see what God is doing while we are in the middle of a painful experience. It is so easy for us to forget all of His promises to us. When He says He would never leave us or forsake us, well, that applies even in the middle of our worst heartache. When He says that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, well, that is true in tough times. And when He says that all things are working for the good for those who love Him, it is an assurance that even our broken hearts can be redeemed and turned into something useful.

Faith requires believing that there is more than you can see with your eyes. One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.”

In the difficult times of life, we have a God who sees us. And in the nail pierced outstretched arms of a Savior we find safety, peace, and rest. What we need is what the Emmaus disciples needed – to be strengthened in our faith – we need the flames of faith to be fanned. How?

Jesus drew near to them, opened the Scriptures to them, and revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread. And their hearts burned within them. The flames of faith were fanned into a raging fire. So also, Jesus draws near to us. Every week we gather around the places where our Lord has promised to be present – in the Word and the Sacraments. Jesus draws near to us by opening the Scriptures to us and by making Himself known in the breaking of the bread in Holy Communion. Through these heavenly gifts our Lord forgives us and renews us and strengthens us to face disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and even death.

May we through frequent use of the gifts of Word and Sacrament have the flames of faith fanned, so that we also may have hearts that are burning within us.