Fire of the word (Easter A3)

So far the connection between the reading seems strange to me... Fire.

On the Emmaus road we meet the men of the burning heart.

Peter says "You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God." Just as the men on the Emmaus road, as the scriptures are opened to us, our hearts burn - burn away all that is transient and finite.

Acts continues the story of the day of Pentecost, Katherine Grieb calls this the story of the Church on fire.

The Psalmist declares thanksgiving with the fire of offerings and vows.

I've been doing yardwork at the church and burning leaves and fallen branches. Perhaps that explains my preoccupation with fire. I always wonder, Why isn't the fire in the church so easy to tend? Perhaps this week gives some hope to us. Today when I came in to the office, I stirred the dead grey ash. The fire came back. Lord, you make all things beautiful in your time. I pray that you stir our coals, blow your wind, and set our hearts ablaze again.