A Cold Campfire: A Reflection on Faith and the Road to Emmaus
Posted by Mark Mong on April 25, 2023
This reflection draws on Luke 24:28-35, the account of two disciples who walked with the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus. As evening fell, they urged him to stay, and at the table he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened, they recognized him, and they recalled how their hearts had burned within them while he opened the Scriptures on the road.
Stirring Up a Dying Fire
As a young boy camping with his Boy Scout troop, the author remembers cooking meals and keeping warm over fires that constantly needed attention. Each morning meant stirring the coals, adding wood, blowing on the embers, and sometimes striking a fresh match. Rain, damp wood, and expired matches often left the troop cold and hungry.
That image of coaxing a fire back to life helps explain what the Emmaus disciples described. Jesus was not reviving a campfire, but he was certainly stirring the flames of faith and understanding in their hearts. By talking with them and explaining the Scriptures, he blew fresh air on the embers, added fuel, and struck a new match, setting their faith burning strongly.
Jesus Still Rekindles Hearts Today
Jesus continues to speak to human hearts and to open the Scriptures through the Holy Spirit who lives within us. He still breathes fresh air, adds more wood, and brings our faith back to life. Even in hard seasons, he is able to sustain and revive faith when it flickers out.
Cleopas and his companion had little faith or understanding on that first Easter Sunday, and we too have days and seasons when faith and understanding run low. Yet through his Word, Jesus speaks and explains, and belief takes hold, just as it did for them.
Recognized in the Breaking of Bread
While Jesus' Word revives faith, the disciples truly recognized him only in the breaking of bread. In what amounts to an instant replay of the Last Supper, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened. The same is true for us: we can listen to Scripture and sermon and feel our hearts catch fire, but we recognize Jesus when we gather around the Lord's Table for the Lord's Supper. Our hearts burn with the Word, yet we recognize him through the Supper.
Is Your Faith Burning?
Is your faith burning? Is your heart recognizing? There will be moments and seasons when the answer is yes and yes, and other days when it is uncertain or even no. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus bears responsibility for the fire in your heart. If he could light the hearts of Cleopas and the other disciple, he can light yours.
- When the rain of trial soaks your heart, Jesus can blow fresh air and rekindle your faith.
- When your heart is frozen and hard from trauma and brokenness, Jesus can melt and soften it to refuel your faith.
- When sin and death have extinguished the spark of faith, Jesus gives you his heart and believes for and instead of you, and your faith is relit.
Jesus can and does revive your faith and reveal himself to you. The church in every time and place comes to faith in God only through the saving work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Through Word and Table, the Spirit of Jesus Christ blows, fuels, and sparks any human heart to faith and understanding in God.
If your faith is waning, if your understanding and recognition are lacking, hear and remember that the Spirit of Jesus can take cold and dead hearts and bring them to faith and understanding. Hear again the good news of the Easter message and believe in God, believe in Jesus Christ. Through the Spirit, you can burn in faith for God and recognize Jesus. Now burn with faith and see. Amen.
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