A proper way to do it would be to actually make something out of it. Luke, his disappearence, reasons for his disappearence, etc. should be an integral part of the story. The plot, through characters, should gradually uncover pieces and clues to that. See KOTOR for how something like that is done properly.
What we have now in TFA is ANH rehash wrapped into a completely useless finding Luke “header” and “footer”.