Cut and Burning Hearts

 Acts 2:14a,36-41; Luke 24:13-35

We read further in Acts 2 with Peter continuing his preaching to the Jews but here you have the reaction of his audience. They are said to be “cut to the heart” – many of these could have been part of the crowd which had shouted, “Crucify him!” Thus, they feel guilty, “cut to the heart” and ask how they can remedy this. Peter tells them to repent and be baptized and 3,000 persons were added to – became Christians, Christ’s followers.

This is quite a contrast to the two walking on the road to Emmaus in our Luke passage. These men had been in Christ’s company – had heard Jesus’ words but were still confused and perhaps disappointed since they hoped he would redeem Israel but instead he died an awful death. They are discussing this on the road when Jesus, unbeknownst to them, joins them and listens to their account. Now these are men who knew their scriptures but didn’t quite get it. So, Jesus explains that the Messiah must suffer things before he went into glory and then he goes through the history of Moses and the prophets – the things told about Christ in all the scriptures.

Being hospitable Jews, they urge him to stay with them. It’s not until he takes the bread and blesses it that their eyes are finally open, and they recognize him as the risen Jesus.

I love the one’s response to this. He says, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he opened the scriptures to us?”  Was it finally seeing what God’s plan was that from suffering would come glory? Are they burning with understanding and perhaps hope to overcome their disappointment in the way that things played out? Is it a glow of realization that God’s plan wasn’t over? Yet they don’t recognize Christ till he sits down with them and breaks the bread.

When was the last time you felt “cut to the heart” - convicted of a sin you’ve done? A cut that can only be healed by confessing it to God and repenting. Have you ever read a scripture which seemed written just for you to help you through a challenging time or time of disappointment. Does your heart burn within you as you see how it applies to your life?

In the Christian life we will encounter cut hearts and hopefully burning hearts to inspire us that God still has a plan for us. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Join Me on a Lenten Journey

For those of you not familiar with Lent, it is a season of forty days, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others. Easter comes early this year. Many of us not brought up in this tradition can still embrace its emphasis of focusing on the gifts Christ has brought into your lives and finding ways to share the love of Christ to others. This emphasis of love goes along well with the beginning of Lent this year, Ash Wednesday, falling on all days – Valentine’s Day. So whether or not you plan
Read more

Setting Your Hope in God

 Disclaimer: Paul talks about the Rapture in this passage a concept I still struggle with. I believe that once you die you go direct to the Lord, so bodies awaiting till the rapture to rise is hard for me to grasp. I can see how Paul was comforting the Thessalonians here but was his concept correct? Add any comments you wish to this bafflement of mine. That said, I wrote this per the text. What do you all think? Psalms 78:1-7; I Thessalonians 4:13-18   The psalmist in Psalms 78 is not only telling his current audience to listen to his teaching but to pass it on from one generation to the next. Just like he has heard it from his ancestors, he asks the Israelites to teach them to the coming generations. They are to teach them to the children yet unborn so that these children will teach their children. Why? So, they should set their hope in God, not forgetting God’s works. Fast forward to the New Testament where Paul is passing on this hope to the Thessalonians. The question these bel
Read more

Do What they Teach, Not What they Do

  Matthew 23: 1-12; I Thessalonians 2:9-13   Jesus when he talks about the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23 basically says: “Do what they teach but not what they do.” What he questions most is their motivation. They do what they do to be seen by others. They wear fancy robes and love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect. All this Jesus sums up in the word pride or not being humble. He states then that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Years later Paul writes to the Thessalonians telling how he did what Christ had instructed. That he was humble leading a life worthy of God, his motivation being for God’s glory not his own. He tells that not only are the Thessalonians his witnesses of this but God also. They have seen how pure, upright, and blameless his conduct has been. He encourages the Thessalonians to do the same. To live a life worthy of
Read more