Hearts on Fire as Jesus Reveals Himself
Daily Scripture
Luke 24:25-35
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.
28 When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. 29 But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?”
33 They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus interpreted for his dispirited followers “the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.” Only when he broke and blessed the bread did they recognize him in a flash of insight and memory. His transformed body disappeared, but they joyfully realized their hearts had been “on fire” as Jesus explained the Hebrew Scriptures’ deep message.
- Scholar William Barclay noted this story’s central truth: Jesus has “the ability to make sense of things.” When Jesus talked with these disciples, “the meaning of life became clear and the darkness became light…. It is only in Jesus that, even in the bewildering times, we learn what life means.” * Can you recall a moment when you experienced inner quiet or relief about something painful in the light of Jesus’ love and grace? How did that recognition change your perspective?
- The two disciples may well have been husband and wife (cf. John 19:25; “Clopas” and “Cleopas” were likely the same person). They urged their road companion to stay with them, as a married couple would. If they hadn’t, they’d have missed the joy of recognizing the risen Jesus. How do you invite Jesus into your daily life? Like these disciples, have you learned to recognize his presence amid everyday pressures—at meals, in conversation, in moments of study or reflection?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I want you, I need you, to be with me at home and everywhere I go. Like those early disciples, I invite you to join me and stay with me—at every meal and in every moment. Amen.
GPS Insights
Shannon Starek
Shannon Starek, who now serves as the Location Pastor at Resurrection Liberty, wrote today's Insights when she served at Resurrection Downtown. She loves to travel and has been to 49 states, 11 countries and lived in Vancouver, Canada for grad school! When not gallivanting all over the world, she lives in Liberty with her husband, Aaron, and two sons, Owen and Porter.
I love spring. I find it new and amazing and awe-inspiring each year even though I’ve experienced it all my life. I see the buds on the trees, tiny shoots popping up out of the ground, colors I haven’t seen in half a year and my mind immediately remembers that this happens every spring! How easily I forget and yet how quickly I remember.
In our passage from Luke, we see almost the same thing happen. It is Sunday morning, the tomb has been found empty, confusion is all around. Two of Jesus’ followers are walking to a nearby town and a stranger appears and joins them. They have conversation with this stranger as he explains all the Scriptures about Jesus. They still don’t get it.
As the day turns to night, they invite the stranger in and begin to share a meal together. And this is when it all comes into view. They have seen this before. They have witnessed the wonder. They understand the beauty of this act. In this moment of breaking and blessing the bread, Luke says, “Their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” How easily they forgot and yet how quickly they remembered.
And isn’t that just how God is? Always there, even when I don’t have eyes to see. Always with me, even when I forget. Always revealing God’s self in just the right timing.
All winter long I stare at these trees, this ground, and forget the fullness of what they are. They are filled with life even when they look dead. They are waiting to reveal themselves for the right season, the best timing. How easily I forget and yet how quickly I remember. And may God be with me even when I forget and tenderly welcome me each time I remember.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 295.
