Hearts burning

This past Sunday’s Gospel (Lk 24:13-35) is one of my favorites. Like many people, I identified with it the first time I really heard it. It’s the story of two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. It was Easter Sunday, and they just left Jerusalem and the news that Christ is risen. Unfortunately, they didn’t believe the news so they were “downcast” when asked about it by Jesus when He joined them. What is so identifiable about this story is that Jesus celebrated the Word and Sacrament (Eucharist) with them which we commonly experience at Mass. Specifically, they recognized Jesus in the “breaking of bread” which is exactly how I first recognized Him and came to know Him. Among the resurrection appearances, it is my favorite because of the celebration of the Eucharist.

The other penetrating part of this scene has always been the phrase, “hearts burning within us”. This is what the two disciples say was happening while Christ preached the Scriptures to them to reveal all that was spoken about Him. First of all, that would be awesome to listen to! That would be the greatest Bible Study of all time with THE expert on Scripture explaining them, and referring to Him. Second, “hearts burning within us” is such an exact phrase when it comes to experiencing Christ in any way. Something different grabs our hearts and sets them on fire when we encounter Him. Nothing else in this world makes our hearts burn like Christ, the Gospel, and the kingdom of God.

Our hearts yearn to burn for something or someone. We all want to be in love with a person or an important cause. That and so many other things come together when we fall in love with Christ. Also, He created our hearts to love Him. So, it’s like St. Augustine said, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O Lord”. Put another way, our hearts get burned until they burn for You, O Lord.