The Burning Heart

"We need to learn the secret of the burning heart . . . We cannot stay on the mount of transfiguration, but we must obey the light we received there, we must act it out" -- Oswald.

I wish I better understood what Oswald meant by "the secret of the burning heart." We were exhorted at church yesterday to think carefully about the words we sing, recite and use in everyday language, so I've been thinking about these words all day but haven't gotten very far. The disciples on the road to Emmaus used them after they had been with the risen Christ. The sense seems to be: Wasn't something within us brought to life as he spoke and explained the Scriptures to us? Just before they spoke of their hearts burning, Luke wrote that their eyes were opened. As Jesus broke the bread for their meal, blessed it, and handed it to them, they realized who he was, and after he disappeared, they acknowledged that while there, he had made an impact on them. That impact created a burning sensation, and Oswald tells us we must learn to sustain that sensation.

We use the word "heart" to refer to the seat of our feelings and thoughts, the core of our beings. It is also the organ pumping life-giving blood throughout our bodies. "Burning" relates to fire, heat and light. Its connotation is often negative -- from toast to homes, burning destroys -- but here, the meaning is positive. Like the medieval fire that was not easily re-lit, this burning means life. Our spirits woke up inside us when he was near. He is not dead. We are not dead. He has blown on the smoldering coals and rekindled the flame within us.

Relationship -- the presence of Christ in our lives -- walking alongside him -- is what creates the burning sensation. We must stay present with him -- abide in him like the vine and the branches -- or we will lose it.

I have never known Christ's physical presence, and the Word promises that I am never without his spiritual presence -- "I will never leave you nor forsake you" -- so why do I not always feel my heart burning within me?

Ah . . . all of that just to re-state the question.