We warn children
in no uncertain terms,
“Do not play with matches!”
“Stay away from the fire!”
“Be careful, you’ll burn yourself!”
We have a litany of names for people who don’t play nice with fire—
Arsonist.
Pyromanic.
Firebug.
The dark chapters of human history
are often accompanied
by the sounds of roaring fire,
and illuminated by flames.
Cities have been leveled,
Populations decimated
Artifacts left charred and smoldering
Libraries torched.
In the hands of evil,
fire
has been twisted into incendiary bombs,
and launched as Molotov cocktails.
Fire
has been poured out as burning pitch
and rained down as napalm.
Fire is so destructive,
that scripture often pictures
Hell
as a place of unquenchable fire,
where even the lakes
are consumed in flames and sulfur.[i]
Fire is a chemical reaction.
It occurs when oxygen, heat, and fuel
combine to create something
utterly new and different.
At a certain point in the reaction—
the “ignition point”—
flames are produced.
This chemical reaction
transforms oxygen and fuel
into energy—
both thermal energy--heat,
and radiant energy--light.
Take away any single element:
oxygen,
fuel,
heat,
and fire will die.
But continue to feed it
with oxygen and fuel,
and fire will burn brightly--
even spread.
Fire is a paradox.
It hurts and heals,
blesses and curses,
consumes and destroys,
comforts and warms.
Fire can bring ruin,
but it can also temper,
strengthen,
illuminate.
Fire can annihilate,
but it can also mesmerize,
purify,
cleanse.
Harnessing the power of fire
transformed history.
It allowed humanity to stay dry,
to cook food,
to remain secure from predators,
to venture forth into harsh climates.
Gathered around the intimacy of a fire,
we formed community.
Around the fire,
we told and re-told stories
and whispered our dreams and fears
into the darkness.
Within the safe circle of a fire,
we gazed in wonder at the stars,
and remembered a God
who remembers us.
Along the way,
we learned
that the destructive power of fire
can be domesticated,
channeled,
used--
but never completely controlled.
It remains chaotic,
Unpredictable,
Wild—
and more than a little dangerous.
Fire transforms raw clay
into a durable ceramic.
Its alchemy causes steel
to become strong,
yet remain malleable enough
to be fashioned and shaped.
Fire removes low-growing underbrush,
cleans the forest floor of debris,
releases nutrients into the soil.
But left unchecked,
Fire brings desolation and ruin.
Fire not only has power,
it has the power to transform.
It is no coincidence that on Pentecost,
while the disciples sat in the upper room,
praying,
Tongues of Fire appeared,
dancing on their heads.
The conditions in the Upper Room
were ripe
for spontaneous combustion.
Ruah,
the breath of God—
the Holy Spirit blowing through the room
as a mighty wind
was the Oxygen.
The passion of the disciples—
their determination
to continue the mission of Christ,
their conviction
that they were called
to share the Good News
was the Heat.
And their faith—
their belief that Christ had died,
Christ had risen,
Christ would come again,
became Fuel.
Oxygen.
Heat.
Fuel.
Spirit.
Passion.
Faith.
The holy trinity of fire.
The holy trinity of discipleship.
All three elements of the fire triangle
were present in the Upper Room that day.
No wonder they ignited!
Sprit, Passion, and Faith
combined to create energy—
in the form of both warmth and light
radiating out into the world.
On that Feast of Pentecost,
the birthday of the Church,
tongues of fire danced
on the heads of ordinary
men and women,
transforming them
from frightened followers,
huddled together for protection,
into bold and confident missionaries.
That fire forged them
into sharp-edged steel—
tempered them
into durable vessels
capable of carrying the Good News
to all Nations.
The Spirit
poured out gifts upon the Apostles,
Mary, and the first disciples
empowering them
to go into the dark corners of the world
and preach the Gospel.
It emboldened them
to share the Good News that
Light
now entered the world to stay
Pentecost is a feast of fire.
A feast of Spirit, Passion, and Faith.
It is not a history lesson
or a sentimental remembrance
celebrating an event long ago
and far away.
Pentecost is a call to action.
It is a feast designed to set us on fire.
It is an invitation to claim the gifts
of the Holy Spirit,
those same gifts that transformed
hesitant,
frightened,
confused men and women
into bold evangelists.
Pentecost holds out a challenge
to take up their legacy--
to continue to provide
oxygen and fuel,
faith and passion,
so the fire of the Church
will continue to burn and spread.
Above all,
it is a beckoning to go out—
to walk the mission fields of
Cincinnati, and Pierce City, and Manitou
with Fire...
on our heads
and in our hearts.
[i] Mark 9:43; Rev. 20:10
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